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Economic Status and Social Attitudes of Migrant Workers in China

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  • Peilin Li
  • Wei Li

Abstract

Migrant workers, meaning those who used to be farmers but have left rural areas and found jobs in cities as a result of economic reform and rapid development in China, have made a significant contribution to the burgeoning labor market and played an important role in speeding up the transition from a planned to a market economy. This present paper considers the economic status and social attitudes of migrant workers. It is based on the analysis of a large‐scale survey in 2006, which was conducted using questionnaires and covered 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout the country. It was found that the income status of migrant workers depends heavily on the education and technical skills that they have developed, rather than on identity‐based discrimination. Surprisingly, it was also found that those on less income and of lower economic and social status show more positive attitudes to society than those who are affluent and considered of higher social status. It is concluded that the decisive factor in attitude and behavior of migrant workers is historic rather than economic.

Suggested Citation

  • Peilin Li & Wei Li, 2007. "Economic Status and Social Attitudes of Migrant Workers in China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:chinae:v:15:y:2007:i:4:p:1-16
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-124X.2007.00072.x
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    1. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chan Yang & Xiaogang He & Xiaoyan Wang & Jinjun Nie, 2022. "The Influence of Family Social Status on Farmer Entrepreneurship: Empirical Analysis Based on Thousand Villages Survey in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-27, July.
    2. Qiang Fu & Qiang Ren, 2010. "Educational Inequality under China's Rural–Urban Divide: The Hukou System and Return to Education," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(3), pages 592-610, March.
    3. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 2022. "Fleshing out the olive? Observations on income polarization in China since 1981," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Lu, Shuang, 2020. "Family migration and youth psychosocial development: An ecological perspective," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    5. Hu, Hongwei & Lu, Shuang & Huang, Chien-Chung, 2014. "The psychological and behavioral outcomes of migrant and left-behind children in China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-10.
    6. Alex Jingwei He & Chunni Zhang & Jiwei Qian, 2022. "COVID-19 and social inequality in China: the local–migrant divide and the limits of social protections in a pandemic [Impact of risk perception on migrant workers’ employment choice during the COVI," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 41(2), pages 275-290.
    7. Wang, Huashu & Pan, Lei & Heerink, Nico, 2013. "Working Conditions and Job Satisfaction of China's New Generation of Migrant Workers: Evidence from an Inland City," IZA Discussion Papers 7405, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Lei Kuang & Li Liu, 2012. "Discrimination against Rural-to-Urban Migrants: The Role of the Hukou System in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(11), pages 1-8, November.
    9. Jia Zhuang & Jacky C. K. Ng & Qiaobing Wu, 2025. "The role of parent–child communication on Chinese rural left-behind children’s educational expectation: a moderated mediation analysis," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.

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