Rural-urban Migration In China Research Articles

Economic Growth, Demographic Change and Rural-Urban Migration in China

Is China able to maintain fast growth after three decades? This paper tries to answer this question by: 1) arguing that factors contributed to sustained long-run growth at supply side; 2) focusing on contributions of demographic dividend especially that of rural-urban migration; and 3) analyzing rural demographic change with information collected through village-wide household survey. Policy alternatives to realize remaining potential demographic dividend are proposed based on the analysis of changing rural demographic structure.

The Great Migration: Rural-Urban Migration in China and Indonesia

Contents: 1. The Great Migration in China and Indonesia: Trends and Institutions Xin Meng and Chris Manning PART I: CHINA 2. Why Don't More Chinese Migrate from the Countryside? Institutional Constraints and the Migration Decision Leng Lee and Xin Meng 3. Jobs, Working Hours and Remuneration Packages for Migrant and Urban Workers Paul Frijters, Leng Lee and Xin Meng 4. Wage Structures and Inequality Among Local and Migrant Workers in Urban China Deng Quheng and Li Shi 5. The Educational and Health Outcomes of the Children of Migrants Sherry Tao Kong and Xin Meng 6. Rural-Urban Migration and Poverty in China Chuliang Luo and Ximing Yue 7. Rural-Urban Migration in China: Survey Design and Implementation Sherry Tao Kong PART II: INDONESIA 8. Assessing the Welfare of Migrant and Non-migrant Households in Four Indonesian Cities: Some Demographic, Social and Employment Characteristics Tadjuddin Noer Effendi, Mujiyani, Fina Itriyati, Danang Arif Darmawan and Derajad S. Widhyharto 9. The Socio-economic and Health Status of Rural-Urban Migrants in Indonesia Budy P. Resosudarmo, Asep Suryahadi, Raden M. Purnagunawan, Athia Yumna and Asri Yusrina 10. Making It in the City: Recent and Long-term Migrants in the Urban Labour Market in Indonesia Armida Alisjahbana and Chris Manning 11. Rural-Urban Migration in Indonesia: Survey Design and Implementation Budy P. Resosudarmo, Chikako Yamauchi and Tadjuddin Noer Effendi References Index

Job Contact Networks and Wages of Rural-Urban Migrants in China

In nationally representative household data from the 2008 wave of the Rural to Urban Migration in China survey, nearly two thirds of rural-urban migrants found their employment through family members, relatives, friends or acquaintances. This paper investigates why the use of social network to find jobs is so prevalent among rural-urban migrants in China, and whether migrants face a wage penalty as a result of adopting this job search method. We find evidence of positive selection effects of the use of networks on wages. Users of networks tend to be older, to have migrated longer ago and to be less educated. In addition, married workers and those from villages with more out-migrant are more likely to use networks, while those without local residential registration status are less likely. Controlling for selectivity, we find a large negative impact of network use on wages. Using job contacts brings open access to urban employment, but at the cost of markedly lower wages.

Measuring the Income-Distance Tradeoff for Rural-Urban Migrants in China

Rural-urban migrants in China appear to prefer nearby destination cities. To gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, we build a simple model in which migrants from rural areas choose among potential destination cities to maximize utility. The distance between a migrant's home village and destination city is explicitly included in the utility function. Using recent survey data, we first estimate an individual's expected income in each potential destination city using a semi-parametric method, controlling for potential self-selection biases. We then estimate the indirect utility function for rural- urban migrants in China based on their migration destination choices. Our baseline estimates suggest that to induce a migrant to move 10 percent further away from home, the income of this migrant has to increase by 15 percent. This elasticity varies very little with migration distance; it is slightly higher for female than male migrants; it is not affected by the migrant's age, education, or marital status. We explore possible explanations of these results and discuss their policy implications.

Rural-urban migration decision making processes: a whole and personal support network analysis

Social network analysis is one of the most important instruments to study collective decision making by assessing personal support networks in whole communities. Although cost-benefit analysis is a fundamental method for analysing decision making in human migration, the decisions made by villagers about rural-urban migration are also directly or indirectly affected by the ties of an ego (villager) connected to an alter (other villager), the whole network structure and the attribute characteristic of both ego and alter. The aim of this research, based on a case study, is to draw attention to these support network processes. An empirical study considering rural-urban migration in China has been undertaken to discuss and explore the relevance of social network analysis associated for migration decision making under the government’s favourable migration policy, where cost-benefit considerations have a non-significant effect on villagers’ decision process.

From Rural Poverty to Urban Deprivation? The Plight of Chinese Rural-Urban Migrants Through the Lens of Last Train Home

China’s impressive growth has been accompanied by huge rural-urban divide and social sacrifice of many including rural-urban migrants. Reflecting on the documentary Last Train Home (2009) by Lixin Fan, this paper identifies and examines the life of rural-urban migrants in China in terms of poverty-reduction, child-care, education and equal opportunities for a better life. By comparing the seemingly difficult and tragic life of the Zhang family against statistical facts, it shows that their suffering and struggles are common to most migrants. In essence, by creating an interactive dialogue between the film and the economic reality in China, this paper highlights the severe constraints on the Chinese peasantry and discusses the implications of limited choices and social injustice towards rural-urban migrants. It argues that the inequality in opportunities and the lack of social care for migrants has created huge social cleavage that not only reduces social welfare but may also impede further development.

The settlement of rural migrants in urban China – some of China's migrants are not ‘floating’ anymore

This paper considers economic models of migration in the context of current Chinese migration. We argue that using formally changing one's household registration (hukou) location is too narrow a definition of settlement for policy purposes. Instead we show that time in the city and co-residence with spouses and separately with children reveals systematic settlement behavior on the part of a subset of migrants. The empirical evidence offered is largely descriptive but shows that those migrants who were younger at the age of migration, who are currently married and self-employed spend more years in the city. Men who have been in the city longer and are self-employed are much more likely to be co-residing with their wife. Self-employment is also a predictor of co-residence with children for both mothers and fathers.

Rural migrants in urban China: Characteristics and challenges to public policy

China has witnessed the largest migration wave in human history, following the initiation of economic reforms in 1978. Around 150 million peasants have moved to cities for job opportunities and better lives. This article reviews studies on rural migrants in Chinese cities, to provide an overview of their characteristics, spatial distribution, reasons for migration, and working and living conditions. Challenges to public policy and areas for future research are then outlined.

China’s Policy on Rural-urban Migrants and Urban Social Harmony

Rural migrants have suffered from serious social exclusion in the Chinese urban society. However, since the early 2000s, the Chinese government emphasizes social harmony as an important national development goal. Together with the reorientation of development goals, the livelihood of rural migrants has received unprecedented State attention. This paper studies the policy changes and examines whether they have enhanced urban social harmony, particularly, in improving the welfare of rural migrants. It was found that the policy changes only partially restored the social and political rights of rural migrants. Some rural migrants have resorted to extreme actions, such as suicides, crimes, and strikes, to express their grievances, thereby contradicting government attempts to ensure social harmony. Further efforts are required to enhance the social inclusion of rural migrants in urban China.

Nicotine Dependence among Rural-Urban Migrants in China

BackgroundThe complex mechanism of nicotine dependency makes it challenging to evaluate dependence or progress towards dependence. The aim of this study was to estimate nicotine dependence levels and identify determinants of dependence among Chinese rural-urban migrants.MethodsMulti-stage systematic sampling was used to select 4,198 rural-urban migrants aged 18 years or older from three metropolises in China. A structured questionnaire was administered during face-to-face interviews. Nicotine dependence among participants was assessed by means of the six-item Mandarin Chinese Version of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (CFTND). Determinants of dependence were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).ResultsAmong 4,198 participants, estimated current, daily, and occasional smoking rates were 28.3%, 21.2%, and 7.1%, respectively. The CTFND score for the 894 daily smokers was 3.39(SD: 2.32). MANOVA showed that work type, age at first migration, length of migration, and number of cities ever lived were associated with nicotine dependence.ConclusionA migratory lifestyle is associated with nicotine dependence. Results could inform the design of tobacco control programs that target Chinese rural-urban migrant workers as a special at-risk population.

Mental Health Status and Related Characteristics of Chinese Male Rural–Urban Migrant Workers

To explore mental health status and related characteristics in a sample of Chinese male rural-urban migrants. Subjects were 1,595 male rural-urban migrant workers selected though a multi-stage sample survey conducted in two cities (Hangzhou and Guangzhou). Data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Both life and work stressors were examined. Stress and mental health status were measured by the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS) and the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), respectively. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with probable mental disorders. There are approximately 120 million rural-urban migrants in China. The prevalence of probable mental disorders in the sample population was 24.4% (95% CI: 23.3-25.5%), which was higher than among urban residents (20.2%, 95% CI: 18.8-21.7%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that five characteristics were positively associated with risk for probable mental disorders: originating in the South (OR=2.00; 95% CI=1.02, 4.00), higher life stress (OR=7.63; 95% CI=5.88, 10.00), staying in the city for 5-9months each year (OR=2.56; 95% CI=1.67, 3.85), higher work stress (OR=2.56; 95% CI=1.96, 3.33), and separation from wife (OR=2.43; 95% CI=1.61, 3.57). Employment in machinery and transportation (OR=0.54; 95% CI=0.36, 0.81) and higher self-worth (OR=0.42; 95% CI=0.28, 0.62) were negatively associated. Findings support an urgent need to develop specific policies and programs to address mental health problems among Chinese rural-urban migrants.

Social-Family Network and Self-Employment: Evidence from Temporary Rural-Urban Migrants in China

We hypothesize that individuals with a larger social-family network are more likely to choose self-employment. We test this hypothesis using data on temporary rural-urban migrants in China. The size of a migrant's social-family network is measured by the number of relatives and friends this migrant greeted during the past Spring Festival. Our empirical analysis faces two challenges. First, there is an endogeneity problem in that a migrant may want to develop and maintain a large social-family network exactly because he is self-employed. For this reason, a simple correlation between the probability of being self-employed and the size of the migrant's social-family network cannot be interpreted as causal. Second, the size of the social-family network is measured using survey data, which is subject to measurement error. To overcome these problems, we take an instrumental variable (IV) approach. More specifically, we examine the distance an individual migrated when he first moved to a city and use this variable to instrument for the current size of the social-family network. We establish the credibility of the IV by emphasizing the unique institutional context of rural-urban migration in China and focusing on the sample of migrants who originally started as wage workers in urban areas and currently are not in their first jobs. Our IV results indeed show that a rural-urban migrant with a larger social-family network is more likely to be self-employed in the city. This finding is robust to alternative model specifications and various restrictions on the sample used in estimation.

Social Stigma, Social Capital Reconstruction, and Rural Migrants in Urban China: A Population Health Perspective

In this study, we examine migrant stigma and its effect on social capital reconstruction among rural migrants who possess legal rural residence but live and work in urban China. After a review of the concepts of stigma and social capital, we report data collected through in-depth interviews with 40 rural migrant workers and 38 urban residents recruited from Beijing, China. Findings from this study indicate that social stigma against rural migrants is common in urban China and is reinforced through media, social institutions and their representatives, and day-to-day interactions. As an important part of discrimination, stigma against migrant workers creates inequality, undermines trust, and reduces opportunities for interpersonal interactions between migrants and urban residents. Through these social processes, social stigma interferes with the reconstruction of social capital (including bonding, bridging and linking social capital) for individual rural migrants as well as for their communities. The interaction between stigma and social capital reconstruction may present as a mechanism by which migration leads to negative health consequences. Results from this study underscore the need for taking measures against migrant stigma and alternatively work toward social capital reconstruction for health promotion and disease prevention among this population.

Book Reviews

“From Growth to Convergence: Asia’s Next Two Decades” is reviewed by Nalitra Thaiprasert. “The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-minded America Is Tearing Us Apart” is reviewed by Cynthia Rogers. “The Great Migration, Rural-Urban Migration in China and Indonesia” is reviewed by Christiadi.

Governmental Policy and Social Exclusion of Rural Migrants in Urban China

Based on a review of government policy documents and research literature, this paper provides an account of the evolution of government policies in China since 2000. The state of China has selectively provided some inclusive policies for rural-urban migrants but denied them formal membership and offered them only partial social entitlements in the host city. The implementation of a some social policies for rural migrants has largely been ineffective. Further efforts need to be made to enhance the inclusion of rural migrants in China's urban areas.

Social networks and health among rural-urban migrants in China: a channel or a constraint?

This article concentrates on analysing social networks and health among rural-urban migrants in China. The function that social networks substantially play on the issue of health among migrants in China has rarely been discussed in studies. On the basis of a case study of a migrant community in Beijing, this paper examines the range of social networks among migrants, from which they can acquire support, including financial and spiritual, when they are dealing with health problems. Social networks resemble a double-edged sword to rural-urban migrants in terms of health-care access. The fact that migrants lack savings may not be the sole and essential reason for their extreme vulnerability in times of illness. Some migrants, who are in financial difficulties though, may have some assistance, including financial and emotional support from their social networks. But on the other hand, their limited social networks bring them many negative effects on their health, as well as restricting health-care access.

Policing and racialization of rural migrant workers in Chinese cities

This article examines policing practices that produce forms of race-like status for rural migrants in Chinese cities. I analyse new forms of ‘natural attributes’-based discrimination and regulation of the rural-urban divide based on hukou, the body of laws that control household registration and movement of workers within China's developing urban industrial order. I argue that rural migrant workers are policed in cities through a process by which new disadvantageous racializing identifications take shape, reinforcing stereotypes of rural migrants' bodily features. This research applies critical race theory to issues generally analysed through the lens of class. Contextualized within China's market-oriented reform, economic growth and social transformations, this approach to racialization endeavours to understand the intricate cultural and material aspects of rural-urban migration in China.

Labour Market Impact of Large Scale Internal Migration on Chinese Urban 'Native' Workers

Hundreds of millions of rural migrants have moved into Chinese cities since the early 1990s contributing greatly to economic growth, yet, they are often blamed for reducing urban 'native' workers' employment opportunities, suppressing their wages and increasing pressure on infrastructure and other public facilities. This paper examines the causal relationship between rural-urban migration and urban native workers' labour market outcomes in Chinese cities. After controlling for the endogeneity problem our results show that rural migrants in urban China have modest positive or zero effects on the average employment and insignificant impact on earnings of urban workers. When examine the impact on unskilled labours we once again find it to be positive and insignificant. We conjecture that the reason for the lack of adverse effects is due partially to the labour market segregation between the migrants and urban natives, and partially due to the complementarities between the two groups of workers. Further investigation reveals that the increase in migrant inflow is related to the demand expansion and that if the economic growth continues, elimination of labour market segregation may not necessarily lead to an adverse impact of migration on urban native labour market outcomes.

Associations between Leisure Activities and HIV Risk Behaviors among Rural Migrants in Urban China

Although much has been documented on factors affecting HIV risk behavior among rural-to-urban migrants in China, data are lacking on the impact of leisure activities. In this study, we examined the association between leisure activities and HIV risk behavior among a sample of rural-to-urban migrants from two large cities (Beijing and Nanjing) in China. Cross-sectional data were analyzed for a sample of 4,085 participants aged 18 to 30 years (40.5% females). Findings from the analysis indicated that although the migrants worked long hours, they engaged in a number of activities when they did not work, including watching television (60.2%), reading (59.1%), sleeping (55.6%), and chatting with friends and co-workers (45.0%). Multiple regression analysis indicated that reading, doing chores (females only), listening to radio programs/audio CDs (male only) were associated with reduced likelihood of HIV risk behavior while playing cards in groups, visiting entertaining installments, watching videos (including Xrated, males only), and wondering around (females only) were associated with increased likelihood of HIV risk behavior. Findings of this study suggest that constructive and individualized activities (e.g., reading, listening to radios, and doing chores) may prevent migrants from engage in HIV risk behaviors while group and entertaining activities related to drugs and sex may increase the odds for migrants to engage in HIV risk behaviors. Prevention research should consider leisure activities as both an influential factor (including time trends and gender differences) for program development and an important venue for program delivery.

Land Rights and Rural-Urban Migration in China

Collective ownership of agricultural land and the remains of the administrative management of rural economy have imposed considerable insecurity on the land use rights of Chinese farmers. This insecurity constrains the movement of rural people, who fear that migration will jeopardise what land use rights they do enjoy. In this paper we describe the idiosyncratic uncertainty of land use rights, and verify its influence on migration decisions, with a special focus on the duration of migration.