Workers In Urban China Research Articles

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL LOCATION AND LONG-TERM SETTLEMENT INTENTIONS: A STUDY OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN URBAN CHINA

This study delves into the link between the residential locations of migrant workers in China and their intentions to settle, set against the backdrop of the household registration system’s liberalization and the rise of a market economy. While migrant workers have significantly contributed to the societal development of China, research indicates their struggles with local community integration, leading many to eventually return to their hometowns. The influence of migrant workers’ residential choices on their migration patterns has been underexplored in Chinese scholarly discussions, a stark contrast to the attention it has received in Western academia. Employing segmented assimilation theory and spatial assimilation theory as theoretical frameworks, the study scrutinizes the relationship between migrant workers’ residential location and their long-term settlement intentions, utilizing questionnaire data collected in 2020. The empirical findings indicate that residential location is significantly related to their long-term settlement intentions, as migrant workers residing in urban centers exhibit a more pronounced intention to remain in their host cities compared to their suburban counterparts. Furthermore, the relationship is also shaped by the degree of their social integration. The study further emphasizes the importance of accounting for migration timing and homeownership status when examining this relationship, contributing to a deeper understanding of the factors that shape migration decisions in the context of China’s rapid urbanization.

To leave or to stay: Digital economy development and migrant workers’ location

The vigorous development of the digital economy will reshape labour demand, which in turn will affect the workplace choice of migrant workers and then their location. Taking the large-scale and highly-mobile immigrant workers in urban China as the research population, this paper conducted an empirical research on the impact of the digital economy on labour location using the data from the China Labour-force Dynamic Survey (2012–2016). Results show that the more developed a city’s digital economy is, the more immigrants the city can attract and absorb. Analysis of the impact channels shows that the attraction of the digital economy to immigrants stems mainly from entrepreneurial opportunity provision and skill utilization enhancement effects. There is individual heterogeneity in the impact of the digital economy, with low-skilled, rural, or high communication ability migrant workers likely to be positively impacted by the development of the urban digital economy. While local governments are committed to digital technology-driven economic transformation, they should nonetheless promote the training of workers in the new era to achieve a better match between digital development and labour market.

More is better? Family leisure involvement and individual leisure satisfaction among Chinese adult workers

ABSTRACT Family leisure activities have been gaining increasing attention in recent years. This study aims to identify the characteristics of family leisure involvement among adult workers in urban China, explore the relationship between family leisure and leisure satisfaction, and further analyse the possible interrelationship between core and balance family leisure activities. Paper-and-pencil questionnaire surveys of activity diaries were collected from 519 residents of Zhongshan, a prefecture-level city in China. Linear regression analysis suggested that balance family leisure activities were not associated with individual leisure satisfaction, while core family leisure had a negative impact. Core family leisure also moderated the relationship between balance family leisure and personal leisure satisfaction. A moderate amount of core family leisure combined with balance family leisure increased leisure satisfaction. This study contributes to the core and balance theory of family leisure functioning by exploring the interrelationship between the two types of family leisure activities in a non-Western context.

Health inequality of rural-to-urban migrant workers in eastern China and its decomposition: a comparative cross-sectional study.

As a specific group with high health inequality, it is crucial to improve the health status and health inequalities of rural-to-urban migrant workers. This study aimed to evaluate the health inequality of migrant and urban workers in China and decompose it. A cross-sectional study was carried out, using a standardized questionnaire to obtain basic information, self-rated health to evaluate health status, concentration index to measure health inequalities, and WDW decomposition to analyze the causes of health inequalities. The concentration index of health for migrants was 0.021 and 0.009 for urban workers. The main factors contributing to health inequality among rural-to-urban migrant workers included income, exercise, and age. In contrast, the main factors of health inequality among urban workers included income, the number of chronic diseases, social support, and education. There were health inequalities in both rural-to-urban migrant and urban workers. The government and relevant authorities should formulate timely policies and take targeted measures to reduce income disparities among workers, thereby improving health inequality.

Who earns the iron rice bowl? Major marketability and state sector jobs among college-educated workers in urban China

In China, state sector employees enjoy a persistent organizational premium, but surprisingly few studies have examined which college-educated workers tend to work in the state sector. In this study, we focus on one key dimension in horizontal stratification in higher education—field of study—to examine patterns of state sector employment among college-educated workers in China according to the occupational specificity and profit orientation of their college majors. Using data from three nationally representative surveys in urban China, we find that college graduates majoring in less occupationally specific and less profitable fields (i.e. those with lower marketability) are more likely to work in the state sector, and this pattern is more pronounced during the later period of marketization reform. Moreover, family resources in the form of a father working in the state sector can weaken the field-to-sector association, and we observe greater intergenerational mobility into state sector employment among college graduates majoring in fields with lower marketability. These findings highlight the field-to-sector relationship as a unique mechanism of China's horizontal stratification in higher education and school-to-work transition. They also underscore the significance of considering organizational contexts when examining the educational stratification in labor market outcomes.

Income difference between highly educated migrants and highly educated local‐born workers in urban China

AbstractOur study explores the income of highly educated migrants in China. Based on the 2014 China Labor‐force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), we conducted Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition of income among highly educated migrants. we found that highly educated migrants, with or without local hukou, have higher income than highly educated local‐born workers. We also found that highly educated migrants without local hukou have higher average income than those with local hukou. Given that the average income is high and knowing a foreign language is highly rewarded in the eastern region and that highly educated migrants without local hukou are clustered in the eastern region, a large percentage of these highly educated migrants know a foreign language and their average income is higher than that of other two groups. Our study demonstrates that not having local hukou, though it brings institutional constraints, does not necessarily lead to lower economic attainment in comparison to having local hukou. If a group has more human capital resources and is sought‐after by the labour market, its members have the luxury of moving to cities where they can maximize their income.

Who earns more? City hierarchy of earning returns to education among migrant workers in urban China

According to urban economic theories, workers in more developed regions should have higher educational returns. However, studies on urban workers in China have shown mixed results on whether earning returns to education are higher in regions experiencing more economic growth. Meanwhile, there is a lack of evidence on this issue among migrant populations, which have rapidly increased in number during China's economic transition. To fill this void, this study investigated how educational returns among migrant workers are related to local economic development levels and industrial structures. Specifically, we used individual-level data obtained from 286 cities through the 2018 China Migrants Dynamic Survey and city-level data to conduct a multilevel linear regression analysis with random slopes. We thus found that earning returns to education were higher in cities under two conditions, including higher development and higher shares of tertiary industry. Moreover, this association was more pronounced among high-skill migrant workers than low-skill ones. As higher income is a primary driving force in migration, we suggest that future policies should further promote industrial restructuring rather than using discriminative administrative rules to guide migration flows.

老龄化视角下，商业健康险与城职保的共同发展路径探讨——基于跨期消费决策模型

老龄化视角下，商业健康险与城职保的共同发展路径探讨——基于跨期消费决策模型

Differences in Subjective Well-Being between Formal and Informal Workers in Urban China.

This paper examines the relationship between different types of employment and subjective well-being with a focus on informal employment. The China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) for three selected years (2012, 2014 and 2016) shows an upward trend in the subjective well-being of urban workers in the 2010s. However, although the gap in subjective well-being between formal and informal workers narrowed, informal workers' subjective well-being was still lower than their formal counterparts. Factors affecting the subjective well-being of formal and informal workers and their different effects were revealed to explain this difference. The subjective well-being of informal workers is significantly related to their informal status of employment, economic conditions (such as income and working hours), human capital, social capital (such as perceived social justice and perceived community connectedness) and urban environment. The paper enhances the understanding of people's subjective well-being by differentiating informal/formal segments of working populations.

Can a licenced community worker qualify as a professional social worker?—Evidence from China

Abstract China has long suffered from a critical shortage of qualified social workers. To compensate for the inadequacy of formally educated social workers, a number of workers employed in the community neighbourhood committee were granted a social work licence and became registered social workers when they passed licence examinations regardless of whether they had a social work degree. Nevertheless, they are often criticised for a lack of professional competence—they are just registered social workers rather than professional social workers. This study identifies whether licenced community workers have a higher level of professional competence than non-licenced community workers in urban China. Based on a sample of 4,013 participants and the extended regression model, the findings show that the licence promotes the professional competence of community workers, but such promotion is achieved through professional knowledge acquisition rather than professional skills acquisition. Licenced community workers probably perceive stronger professional competence through professional knowledge acquisition, but their professional skills might be inadequate. The findings suggest several implications for the social work licence system.

Village Governance of Migrant Farmers: Evidence from a Case Study in Rural China

This article aims to uncover an important yet under-researched governance field during the massive wave of internal migration in China. In contrast with abundant studies that explore the governmentality of migrant workers in urban China, rare scholar attention is dedicated to the group of migrant farmers who only move within rural China. Drawing on a detailed analysis of governance dynamics of Lianhua village, Hunan province, this study finds that migrant famers could undermine village governance in the place of destination from three dimensions: by disturbing social orders; overpricing or exploiting farmland; and paralyzing operation of village affairs. The critical factor deciding whether migrant farmers commit such acts is the degree of their spontaneous solidarity. This study also finds that implementing collective management among migrant farmers in a neoliberal manner could help address village governance challenges brought by them but is not conducive to their social integration into the hosting societies.

Is the discrimination against migrant workers tending toward zero in urban China?

AbstractThe paper analyzes earnings differences between rural–urban migrants and urban workers in China to examine the proposition that discrimination against migrant workers is tending toward zero. Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition is applied using the 2013 China Household Income Project (CHIP) database to find out the extent of discrimination against migrant workers. The results show the existence of wage difference between the two groups, however, most of the wage difference can be explained by observable characteristics implying that discrimination is on the wane. Assuming the urban worker's wage as a nondiscriminatory wage, the benchmark model shows that 82.9% of the wage difference can be explained by individual endowments. Furthermore, including occupation and industry variables the extended model can explain 91.8% leaving only 8.2% as the source of wage discrimination. Using the combined and Cotton (1988) method, the explanatory part is still very high (89.2% and 86.3%) although a bit lower than the previous method. To further support the proposition, we also do the same exercise using 2007 CHIP data that shows a higher percentage of discrimination (36.2%), implying that discrimination decreased in 2013 compared to 2007. A cautious review of similar literature also supports the view. In short, wage discrimination against migrant workers is tending toward zero in recent urban China.

Toward an Empirical Analysis of Income and Time Poverty in Urban China

Many earlier studies have assessed Chinese poverty using monetary dimensions, but few have considered the time dimension. This research investigates multidimensional poverty in urban China, using data from the 2013 China Household Income Project, from the standpoints of income and time. A logistic regression model was used to estimate the socioeconomic causes of income poverty, time poverty, and income–constrained time poverty. Empirical results obtained from this study reveal that being a paid female worker or a private enterprise employee and bearing the financial burdens of housing and medical care have significant effects on the probability of being time poor. In addition, workers who have low academic achievement, children, and educational loans are particularly prone to suffering income–constrained time poverty. This study contributes to the assessment of severe poverty situations and suggests an increasing need for working time regulations and more support for less-educated workers in urban China.

Anatomy of the Wage Gap between Local and Migrant Workers in Urban China: New Evidence from Matched Data

Anatomy of the Wage Gap between Local and Migrant Workers in Urban China: New Evidence from Matched Data

Labour market performance of young migrant workers with heterogeneous educational trajectories in China

Successful global cities present a spectrum of development strategies but share the benefit of the reciprocal dynamics between tailored education systems and matching labour markets. This paper examines burgeoning cities in China and investigates the effects of the heterogeneous educational trajectories of young migrant workers in urban China on their labour market performance. Drawing on the National Migrant Dynamics Monitoring Survey, this paper finds striking wage variations among the young migrant population. Migrant workers who attended high schools in current receiving cities earned less than their counterparts who received senior-secondary education elsewhere. Students following the academic track were better off than students following the vocational track. To further explore what has prevented the urban labour market from rewarding migrants who studied in a receiving city, where the education system is expected to better cater to the city’s specific industrial needs, we tested and found evidence of the mediating effects of job industry and occupation. In addition to engaging with empirical debates in the field, this paper develops a theoretical framework to model how the qualitative attributes of an education system affect wage variations among migrant workers.

The Long-Term Effect of Job Loss on Mortality

The associations between job loss and health were established. However, these associations were usually biased estimates of causality, as individuals with adverse health were self-selected into job loss. To address such selectivity, we take advantage of the case of massive layoffs of State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) workers in urban China, which was driven by policy change rather than individual characteristics and mimicked a quasi-experiment. We employ China Health and Nutrition Survey (1991-2015) that span more than two decades and survival analysis to analyze the effect of job loss on individual mortality. Our analyses with 3,494 SOE workers show that over the past twenty years, job loss has accelerated mortality (hazard ratio = 1.50; p<0.05) for SOE workers in urban China. Further, these accelerated moralities occurred mostly for workers who lost their jobs between 30-39 (hazard ratio = 2.52, p<0.05) and 40-50 (hazard ratio = 1.77, p<0.1) years old, highlighting the adverse consequences of job loss for the young and middle-aged workers. Our analyses established the causality of job loss and mortality over an extended time, and identified the most vulnerable groups to job loss for policies to target to in an effort to improving the well-being of workers later in life.

The Labor Contract Law and the economic integration of rural migrants in urban China

This study examines the income determinants of rural migrants versus urban residents in the urban labor market of China during the 2008 Labor Contract Law era. We focus on the effects of employment contracts, enterprise ownership and social networks on income using data from the 2009 Rural-Urban Migration in China survey and applying ordinary least squares regression and propensity score matching analyses. The results showed that urban residents were more advantaged with guaranteed respectable job earnings, stable employment contracts and involvement in state-owned enterprises and public organizations compared to rural migrants. Rural migrants earned much less than their urban counterparts across ownership sectors. Although rural migrants benefited from urban networks, social exclusion impeded their accumulation of urban ties. Despite the Chinese Government’s call in recent years to fully support the citizenization of rural migrants by revising the Labor Contract Law and reforming the household registration ( hukou) system, the study showed that the integration of rural migrant workers in urban China has a long way to go.

Ritualistic Institution and Livelihood Fragility of Female Migrant Workers in Urban China.

China’s rapid urbanization can be attributed, in part, to the contribution of female migrant workers. However, they are a socially vulnerable group. In order to explore the vulnerability of female migrant workers and its reasons, questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with female migrant workers in Guangdong and Hubei provinces, China, and 992 questionnaires and 147 interview data were finally collected as the research object. The descriptive statistical analysis was conducted with the quantitative data to reveal the livelihood vulnerability of female migrant workers and its reasons, and qualitative data were used to corroborate and consolidate the argument. “Ritualistic institution” is the key to understanding the livelihood fragility of female migrant workers. The policy on migrant workers has weakened the concept of family, making it difficult for families, which are on the fringes of the national policy vision, to benefit from the system. Therefore, the livelihood costs of female migrant workers have increased. Traditional gender norms also make it difficult for migrant women to enjoy the limited benefits and resources of the policy. This weakens the authoritative role of the policy in solving the problem of livelihood vulnerability for migrant workers, particularly women. This shows that China’s policy on migrant workers is somewhat symbolic. Through “family separation” and “ritualistic institution”, it can be seen that China’s urbanization is a modern development activity that carries urban bias and lacks humanistic care value. This is bound to result in the neglect of human development, gender differences, and family, making it difficult for rural migrant women to survive. This in-depth study seeks to find solutions to the problems prevalent under the cover of contemporary Chinese modernity.

Unequal Occupational Mobilities Between Rural Migrant and Urban Resident Workers in Urban China.

The current scholarship on inequality of occupational attainment between rural migrant workers (RMW) and urban resident workers (URW) is largely dominated by evidence suggesting a landscape of occupational segregation, whilst there is a lack of studies researching the equality of occupational mobility. To fill this gap, this study compares the occupational mobilities between RMW and URW in China's urban labor market. Three heatmaps are used to visualize the differences between these two groups in the outflow distributions of occupational mobility. The results show a marked disadvantage of RMW's mobility into white-collar occupations and a relatively high tendency for them to move to or to stay in the manual and agricultural occupations.

Embracing city life: physical activities and the social integration of the new generation of female migrant workers in urban China

ABSTRACT Drawing on empirical data from interviews with young Chinese female rural–urban migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta of China’s Guangdong province, this article explores the ways in which physical activities help to fulfil the ‘urban dream’ of this new generation of female migrant workers and promote their social integration. The article demonstrates that physical activities exert their influence and facilitate the young female migrant workers’ social integration into cities through four dimensions: ‘space’, ‘network’, ‘identity’ and ‘image’. Participating in sport and exercise expands the scale of workers’ living spaces and contributes to building social networks and self-identification. It also enhances female migrant workers’ individualistic values, as opposed to family-oriented ones. These new values allow them to enjoy recreational life and to change the stereotypical image of rural–urban migrant workers.