Hukou Research Articles

The impact of household registration system reform: evidence from China

ABSTRACT We construct a DSGE model with three sectors: households which are divided into urban registered residents and non-urban residents, firm, and government, calibrate and estimate the model with data of China. This study aims to evaluate the impact of household registration system (HRS) reform of China, and provides a theoretical thought to understand this reform. Impulse response analysis and counterfactual simulation show the short-term and long-term effects of the reform on output, consumption, and labour supply. The shock (1%) in public goods consumption increases labour supply and private consumption of non-urban registered residents by 0.21% and 0.42%, decreases by about 0.13% and 0.14% in urban registered residents, and increases in overall labour supply, consumption, and output levels by approximately 0.08%, 0.26% and 0.36%, respectively. While the impact of wage level increases labour supply and private consumption of non-urban registered residents by about 0.03% and 0.6%, about 0.03% and 0.25% of urban registered residents. This leads to increases of overall labour supply, consumption, and output levels by approximately 0.03%, 0.28% and 0.12%, respectively. Transfer payment shocks has a very weak effect. Overall, the economic effects of the household registration system reform policy are significant.

Labor Mobility Networks and Green Total Factor Productivity

Population migration continues to reshape the spatial pattern of China’s population and regional economic development. During this internal migration process, production and consumption patterns often change, ultimately leading to changes in green total factor productivity. This paper, based on the Chinese population census data and 1% sampling survey data from 2005 to 2015, utilizes social network analysis methods to measure the labor mobility network indicators of 284 prefecture-level cities. Further, this paper analyzes the impact and mechanisms of regional network status on green total factor productivity using a panel fixed effects model. We find that as network density increases, the interpersonal connections between regions become closer, and the network exhibits a clear pattern of “concentrated inflows” and “dispersed outflows”, with the trend of forming strong alliances becoming increasingly apparent. Regions positioned centrally either in terms of network in-degree or out-degree exhibit higher green total factor productivity. Among these, the labor mobility network plays a crucial role in enhancing green total factor productivity through the channel of technology diffusion effects, which improve investment efficiency via knowledge exchange and material capital accumulation. The promotive effect of labor network status on green total factor productivity is more pronounced in the eastern regions, where talent quality is higher, and in areas with fewer restrictions from the household registration system.

Does internet use improve employment?--Empirical evidence from China.

Achieving comprehensive and high-quality employment is essential to achieving new levels of people's well-being. The advancement of Internet technology not only affect the massiveness of employment, but also the quality of that. On the basis of constructing an employment quality evaluation index system, this article uses CLDS (China Labor-force Dynamics Survey) data to explore the impact of Internet use on the employment quality of workers and its underlying mechanisms. The results reveal that Internet use has a significant positive impact on improving the employment quality of workers. As the quantile of employment quality increases, internet use has a greater impact on workers with a lower employment quality quantile. In addition, the use of Internet has a more significant promoting effect on the employment quality of rural and female workers. From the perspective of mechanism, Internet use can increase workers' social capital and influence their employment quality through the accumulation of social capital. Based on this, countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from the aspects of increasing investment and construction of Internet infrastructure, further perfecting the reform of household registration system, promoting human capital investment and social capital construction.

The influence of an urban hukou and its acquisition methods on older adults’ happiness: an analysis based on the Chinese General Social Survey

The hukou system is a population management policy in China. However, existing research has paid little attention to the relationships between Chinese urban hukou, its acquisition methods, and older adults’ happiness. This study was based on 10,954 samples from the Chinese General Social Survey in 2013, 2015, and 2017. An ordinary least squares model was used to analyze the influence and differential influence of an urban hukou and its access paths on happiness among older adults. Compared with having a rural hukou, having an urban hukou is correlated with higher levels of happiness in older adults. Moreover, those who had actively converted to an urban hukou or were born with it were happier, while passive conversion to an urban hukou was not significantly correlated with happiness. Additionally, actively converting to an urban hukou and being born with urban hukou influence the happiness of older adults by affecting their class identity and income. To improve older adults’ happiness, it is necessary to narrow the welfare gap between an urban and rural hukou, balance the allocation of public resources in urban and rural areas, and make targeted assessments to solve the difficulties of older adults who passively convert to an urban hukou.

Impact of high-speed rail on the mismatch of labor and industry allocations: Evidence from Chinese cities in 2000-2019

The uneven development of China can be reflected by the mismatch of labor and industry distributions (MLIS) in terms of spatial structure. Industries usually agglomerate in large cities where a strict household registration system causing high barriers with respect to population and labor entry. Infrastructures that reduce the cost of labor and technology mobility, as represented by high-speed rail (HSR), are possible improvement to regulate such distortions as the two agglomerated into opposite directions. This paper focuses on the impact of HSR on MLIS using a large panel dataset comprising 285 Chinese cities in 2000–2019. A difference-in-difference analysis is introduced to carried out empirical analyses. This paper finds that HSR can significantly mitigate the MLIS in prefecture level cities, but not in cities above prefecture level. The heterogeneous effects of HSR are then discussed with respect to industries and MLIS types. Further mechanism tests show that HSR’s mitigating effect on MLIS comes from the employment effect and the innovation effect. Finally, policy recommendations are provided on HSR investment to improve China's uneven development from the perspective of synergy labor and industry distributions.

Association between Hometown Landholdings and Housing Quality of Rural Migrants in Urban Areas: Evidence from China

Urbanization progress in developing countries is reflected in the urban living conditions of their rural migrants. Housing quality, in particular, is linked to migrants’ social integration and development of human capital. In China, where urban housing is highly stratified by urban citizenship via the “hukou” or household registration system, improving housing quality is a top priority for the central government in its pursuit of human-centered urbanization. Despite some social and economic elements affecting migrants’ housing quality being documented, few studies have analyzed the determinants of rural migrants’ housing quality from the perspective of rural landholdings or possession of use rights of rural lands, which is endowed by the land system of China. Using large micro-data from the China Migrant Dynamic Survey (CMDS), this study investigates the association between hometown landholdings and rural migrants’ housing quality in their host cities. The empirical results suggest that possessing rural landholdings in their hometown is negatively correlated with rural migrants’ housing quality in their host cities, wherein rural migrants’ hukou transfer intention is found as an intermediary factor. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the relationship across demographic characteristics and regions was investigated. In addition, short-term revenue derived from hometown landholdings is also verified to have a very limited positive effect on migrants’ housing quality. Land transfer policies customized for subgroups of rural migrants across sociological attributes and urban stratification are concluded finally.

Disparities in awareness and utilisation of National Essential Public Health Services between the floating population and the registered residents: a cross-sectional study in China

ObjectiveThere are differences between the floating population and the registered population in the awareness and use of the National Essential Public Health Services (NEPHS) due to the influence of China’s...

Diversity patterns in non-standard employment and their relationship with self-rated health in urban China from 2010 to 2021

In recent decades, the rise of non-standard employment in China is thought to profoundly influence workers' health. Using data from the China General Social Survey 2010–2021, this study compares the self-rated health of workers engaged in various non-standard employment types with those in unemployment or standard employment in urban China. The research also investigates how these patterns have evolved over time among urban residents with different hukou types amid the expansion of China's welfare system and labor market shifts. We find that while unemployment is significantly related to worse self-rated health, the effects vary across different types of non-standard employment. Precarious employment has a more substantial adverse effect on health than part-time and self-employment, although the effect is less severe than that of unemployment. Between 2010 and 2018, the health impact of precarious employment declined, aligning with China's enhanced welfare system. However, its negative effect re-emerged in 2021. These patterns are particularly pronounced for urban residents holding agricultural hukou, highlighting the intersection of non-standard employment with the household registration system in shaping health outcomes within evolving labor markets.

Dualist Land Regime, the Hukou System and the Welfare of Migrant Workers in Chinese Cities

Abstract Why is China's household registration system so resilient, and why are migrant workers consistently excluded from equal urban welfare? By disaggregating the hukou and land components of the rural–urban dualist regime, this article argues that dualist land ownership, formalized in China's 1982 Constitution, perpetuates the hukou system and unequal welfare rights. On the one hand, dualist land ownership results in an abundance of low-cost, informal housing in urban villages. This reduces the cost of short-term labour reproduction and diminishes migrants’ demands for state-defined urban rights. On the other hand, dualist land ownership enables local governments to amass significant revenues from land sales. The prominence of land-based revenues prompts local governments to link urban welfare rights with formal property ownership and residency, obstructing substantive reforms to the hukou system. For comparison, this article highlights Vietnam, a communist country with a unitary land ownership system, which has made greater strides in reforming its household registration system.

Rethinking the nexus between urban amenities and migrants’ hukou transfer intentions in China: the role of the hukou value

ABSTRACT The household registration (hukou) system differentiates China from Western countries regarding restrictions on internal migration, the allocation of public resources, and the country’s urbanization and development patterns. Although studies have investigated the influence of urban amenities on China’s internal migration, limited attention has been given to clarifying the intricate role of hukou values behind these amenities. The research revisits the influence of amenities on migrants’ hukou transfer intentions with an analytical framework dividing amenities into two categories, those related to hukou and those unrelated, and incorporating the role of the hukou value of the city. Econometric results indicate a significant influence of amenities related to hukou (basic education, health care) and those unrelated (urban consumption, temperature, cultural inclusion, transportation facilities). It also reveals a moderating effect of hukou value, reflected in the strengthened influence of hukou-related amenities, while such an effect is less apparent for amenities unrelated to hukou. Compared to amenities unrelated to hukou, hukou-related amenities mainly have indirect effects moderated by hukou value but less direct influence. Heterogeneity analysis of skilled and less-skilled migrant groups and robustness checks are also conducted. Our findings provide policy implications for China to deepen the future hukou reform.

The impact of low‐skilled migrants on firm productivity: Evidence from hukou reform in China

AbstractIn the past, China divided its citizens into “agricultural hukou” and “non‐agricultural hukou” to limit rural–urban migration, which contributed to China's early industrialization. However, the binary household registration system no longer suits China's development, and cities in China have successively carried out hukou reforms. Based on the reforms that trigger rural–urban migration, we investigate the impact of low‐cost and low‐skilled migrant workers on firm‐level total factor productivity (TFP). We employ a staggered difference‐in‐differences (DID) strategy to show the following results: (1) The hukou reform substantially reduces the listed firms' TFP by 6.9%. (2) The hukou reform has increased the number of employees and the labor intensity, as well as reduced average employee salaries, employee responsibility, and R&D in enterprises, revealing the mechanism by which hukou reform affects firm productivity. (3) Our findings are particularly pronounced in non‐state‐owned enterprises (non‐SOEs), enterprises with more stringent financing constraints, and cities with wider rural–urban income gaps.

Groupings between floating children and urban children: A Bourdieusian social network analysis of physical and social distance in space

Drawing on Bourdieu’s sociology, the concept of space in particular, this paper discussed the positions and dispositions of floating children in the urban space. It used social network analysis to test the homophily hypothesis that socially similar agents are physically proximate. Data were collected from 45 floating children and urban children in a community school in China. The results rejected the homophily hypothesis, calling for collective activism for small-scale but sociologically meaningful change to disrupt the correspondence between the physical and social distance established through the “site effects” of the hukou (household registration) system.

The educational predicament of migrant children: Understanding it from the concept of citizenship

In China, the restrictions on population mobility imposed by the hukou (‘household registration’) system are in contradiction with the demand for increased population mobility in the context of economic production. The phenomenon of migrant children arises out of this contradiction, as they move between the place of household registration and the place of residence, unable to enjoy full citizenship rights and facing multiple dilemmas. Therefore, using the concept of citizenship, this article attempts to explore the interaction between the awakening of citizenship, government laws and responses and citizenship rights in terms of the right to education, so as to provide a foundational perspective for the study of the educational dilemmas of migrant children. Citizenship in China is influenced by a combination of China’s historical background, Confucian culture and the socialist ideology of the Communist Party of China, and it is firmly linked to the hukou system, possessing differentiated characteristics. The special meaning of citizenship in Chinese society and the differentiated stratification caused by the urban–rural dichotomy are the root causes of the inequality in education for migrant children, and the differentiated stratification and the awakening of civic consciousness further promote population mobility.

Sense of community and residential well-being among rural-urban migrants in China

This paper aims to provide an empirical prediction of residential well-being (RWB) and sense of community (SoC) among Chinese rural-urban migrants (RUMs). Multiple linear regressions are used with survey data derived from a representative sample of 15 migrant villages located in three major urban regions of China in order to evaluate the contributions of socioeconomic factors, living conditions, and neighborhood conditions to the SoC score and RWB score. The majority of the sample consists of middle-aged, married men who live in shared housing, are registered in the agricultural Hukou (household registration) system, and have subpar housing. Empirical analyses show that, after adjusting for socioeconomic factors, living conditions, and community neighborhood conditions, Hukou status (urban or rural) significantly influences the RWB score rather than the SoC score. In the simultaneous equation models, the following factors can predict the SoC score and RWB score: age, gender, educational attainment, home ownership, number of housing facilities, monthly household income, number of living rooms, number of problem-solving channels, and converted residences. The SoC score and RWB score have a moderately strong correlation. Therefore, improving the living, institutional, socioeconomic, and neighborhood conditions will help to improve the SoC and RWB of RUMs.

Current Developments on the Chinese Real Estate Market

This paper examines the current situation in the Chinese property market. We have analyzed the current literature and statistics for this purpose. First, the general significance of property ownership in China is presented. Then the market is analyzed from four perspectives: Central government (growing concern over the indebtedness of significant property developers while the sector accounts for a large share of GDP), regional government (importance of revenue from land use transfer and regular tax revenue), property developers (business model designed for rapid growth, financed to a large extent by customer down payments and debt) and buyers (delayed completions of prepaid housing leading to financial burdens from financing, as well as other aspects such as the hukou system and population decline). The analysis of these four perspectives shows the current complex environment in the property sector. Due to the high macroeconomic importance of the property sector in China, stabilization is seen as one of the most significant challenges for economic development in 2024.

The impact of urban integration on the intention of settlement and residence among migrants: The empirical evidence from China

Promoting urban integration is the key to improving the efficiency of labor allocation in developing countries and promoting coordinated regional development. Using the data of the migrants' observation sample in 2012–2017 released by China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this paper draws on theories related to urban integration and labor migration to study the urban integration status, intention of settlement and residence in China's agricultural household labor force in depth, as well as the correlation between the two. The study finds a significant decline in the intention of settlement and a gradual increase in the intention of residence among the migrants. The empirical regressions suggest that good urban integration, especially psychological integration, mainly contributes to their intention of settlement and residence, while the intention of residence is also more influenced by the social and economic integration dimensions. The mediating effect tests reveal that income level and housing stability are key pathways to economic integration, public medical participation and accessibility to medical services are key pathways to health integration, social status and local attachment are key pathways to social integration, and identity affiliation and psychological assimilation are key pathways to psychological integration. Future urbanization in developing countries requires not only further reform of the household registration system but also government, business, and social organizations at all levels to reduce the difficulties of urban integration in economic, health, social, and psychological aspects, enhance the degree of urban integration of the migrants, increase the intention of the migrants to settle and stay in different places and avoid the "migratory bird" migration of labor between regions. The "migratory bird" migration between regions is avoided.

Hukou type, hukou place and labour market vulnerability in Chinese megacities: The case of Beijing in the COVID-19 pandemic

This article presents an investigation into the different roles of hukou type and place in shaping labour market vulnerability within Chinese megacities, using the COVID-19 pandemic-induced income loss in Beijing as a case study. We find that while the hukou system played a role in shaping this loss, its impact was achieved mainly through hukou place, with hukou type having no significant effect. Compared to locals, non-local hukou holders in Beijing were more likely to lose income; and their magnitude of income loss was larger. Locals and non-locals were also subject to different rules when deciding which individuals in the group would have a pay cut, with personal attributes playing a significant role in this decision for non-locals but not for locals. In addition, working in self-employed businesses was a disadvantage for the non-local group only; and the threshold by which family income helped reduce the risk of income loss was lower for non-locals than for locals. This study highlights the importance of extending the discussion on the hukou system’s impact to the question of labour market vulnerability, particularly considering the ongoing and potentially prolonged weakness in China’s labour market. It sheds light on the need to differentiate between hukou place and type in future studies concerning China’s hukou system.

The Effects and Mechanisms of the Rural Homestead System on the Imbalance of Rural Human–Land Relationships: Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China

The imbalance of rural human–land relationships has become a notable problem in China’s urbanization process. The dual urban–rural system is widely regarded as the crucial factor contributing to this problem in China. Although the significance of institutional forces has been substantially recognized, the rural homestead system seems to be generally under-evaluated in this issue. Most of the previous literature focuses on the dual household registration system, while the effects and the detailed mechanisms of the rural homestead system on human–land relationships lack depth in research. The objective of this research is to help fill this gap in the literature on the complex effects and the detailed mechanisms of the rural homestead system on rural human–land relationships. In view of this, this paper establishes a conceptual framework on the basis of land function theory and public domain of property rights theory and proposes two mechanism hypotheses: one is the land attachment mechanism of farmers’ rights and interests (LAM), the other is the land finance preference mechanism of local governments (LFPM). Then, this article examines them empirically using the panel model with the data of 41 cities from 2010 to 2021 in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) LAM promotes the imbalance of rural human–land relationships due to the attachment of farmer’s social security rights and property expectant interests to the rural homesteads; (2) LFPM drives the imbalance of rural human–land relationships, owing to both the preference of land transfer revenue and the exclusion of rural migrants’ citizenship financial cost on local governments; (3) the moderating effects suggest that LFPM can strengthen the effect of LAM, and the spatial Durbin model results show that both LAM and LFPM have spatial spillover effects. It is hoped that the findings will provide a reference for deepening the rural homestead system reform.

Educational Equity in the Context of China's Economic Development: Implementation and Practice of Educational Policies

Educational equity has consistently ranked among the fundamental principles aspired to by human societies. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization emphasizes that providing equal educational opportunities is a universally recognized and paramount ethical and social imperative within both society and the education system. Therefore, this paper assesses the influence of compulsory education and the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) on educational equity in the context of China. The paper explores the policies adopted by the Chinese government to ensure that economic disparities do not affect educational equity. The paper finds that the urban-rural divide creates significant barriers to education for rural students, who often do not have access to quality education, and that the household registration system significantly contributes to fostering inequality. The NCEE system, while designed to promote meritocracy, also contributes to educational inequality by favoring students from urban areas and those who can afford private tutoring. By analyzing China's "Double Reduction" policy, posits that attaining educational equity demands a multifaceted strategy. This entails equitable resource allocation, robust economic support, the promotion of differentiated education, and the fortification of the admission system. The paper contends that mitigating the excessive dependence on a single test score and incorporating diverse assessment methods, like comprehensive quality assessment, can facilitate a more holistic assessment of students' overall capabilities and potential. Consequently, this has the potential to reduce disparities in university admissions. The paper underscores that achieving educational equity hinges on the collective commitment and concerted efforts of the entire society.

Reconceptualizing policy change in China: from soft to harder forms of law in the household registration system reform

The conceptualization of policy change has been much discussed in democratic countries with a focus on formal legislation. However, in non-Western contexts, policies change in both formal and informal ways, and these informal mechanisms are challenging to observe. To fill this gap, this article uses the case of China’s policy process, where soft law policies play an increasingly important role in driving policy change. Drawing inspiration from legalization theory in international law, the article creates a novel typology of soft law policies based on dimensions of obligation and enforcement. Next, it compiles and analyzes a unique dataset of soft law policies from the central, provincial, and prefectural governments during the process of Household Registration (Hukou) System reform from 2011 to 2021. The results show that when the central government strengthens the obligation or enforcement dimension of the Hukou reform policy, then provincial and prefectural governments largely follow this policy change. Still, significant variations exist across provinces and prefectures in how they adapt to central policies. The findings highlight the potential of the typology of soft law policies to generate new insights into policy changes across China’s multi-level governance system.