Are Strict Rules a Deterrent? Political Restrictions and Migration in China

• In Event: Governing Migration in Asia

Abstract

Why do migrants select some destinations over others? Migration is a pervasive feature of development as labor moves from rural areas to cities in search of work. Labor migration is often temporary and circular, but trends in China point to growth in long term city populations. Still, wages alone do not fully explain migration patterns. Within China, cities vary in the difficulty of getting permanent local resident status and in gaining access to the benefits reserved for those with local status. We argue that these political restrictions play a critical role in migration decision-making, especially in terms of destination choice. We examine our hypotheses with a nationally representative survey and an original survey experiment with a focus on the local resident restrictions. The findings show that restrictions significantly alter people’s decisions about whether to migrate or stay and where to migrate. More strict resident regimes deterrent would-be migrants and current migrants are more likely to say they want to move on. If migrants could gain access to local status in their current location, they are more likely to want to stay. The results are robust even after controlling for the socioeconomic motivation, migration experience, and other alternative factors. Our results demonstrate the complex effects of political restrictions on labor migration and permanent migration patterns.

Authors

• Elise Pizzi, University of Iowa

• Yue Hu, Tsinghua University