Contextual Determinants on Migrant Workers’ Household Intentions: A Multi-level Study Based on Nested Data

• In Event: 4122 - Section on Community and Urban Sociology Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 06. International Contexts and Mobility

Abstract

The reform of household registration system in China will make numerous urban-rural migrant workers get urban household registration (hukou in Chinese word) to settle down in cities. There is little research about the effects of contextual characteristics of origin and destination places on migrant workers’ household intention. Based on the data from the large survey of trans-regional migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and the Yangtse River Delta (YRD) in 2010 as well as China Statistical Yearbooks and related websites, the paper uses the nested hierarchical linear modeling method to examine the effects of characteristics of migrants’ origin and destination cities on their willingness to change hukou. Controlling for micro-level variables, the findings show that migrant workers who are from origin cities with higher urban unemployment rate and lower per capita GDP are more willing to change hukou; the more developed cites and cities with higher urban unemployment rate or lower average house price have stronger attraction for migrant workers; migrant workers who have higher education level and are working in more developed cities have stronger hukou desire. Thus, the developed areas will continue to attract floating population and the promotion of helping migrant workers getting urban hukou should continue to be exerted, especially for people who have higher education level.

Author

• Feinuo Sun