IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i12p3415-d241735.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household Split, Income, and Migrants’ Life Satisfaction: Social Problems Caused by Rapid Urbanization in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yang Chen

    (School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China)

  • Hongsheng Chen

    (School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China)

  • Jinhua Liu

    (School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China)

Abstract

Household split between rural and urban areas has become an important social issue in China’s urbanization process. This study analysed the influence of household split on migrants’ life satisfaction and the differences between inter- and intra-provincial migrants. Using the data of the 2014 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, we found that the life satisfaction of inter-provincial migrants was significantly lower than that of intra-provincial migrants. For inter-provincial migrants, the life satisfaction of those who moved to the city with underaged children was significantly lower than that of those who left their children in their hometown. Moreover, the life satisfaction of migrants who were concerned about childcare in the hometown was significantly lower than that of those who did not worry about it. Chinese migrants face a dilemma: bringing their family members to the city despite the lack of social welfare support or leaving them in the hometown worrying about family care. We also found that family income does not have a significant moderating effect on the decline in life satisfaction owing to concerns about childcare in the hometown. Future policy concerning China’s population should create external conditions for migrants to accomplish family reunion.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang Chen & Hongsheng Chen & Jinhua Liu, 2019. "Household Split, Income, and Migrants’ Life Satisfaction: Social Problems Caused by Rapid Urbanization in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-12, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3415-:d:241735
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3415/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3415/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhiming Cheng & Haining Wang & Russell Smyth, 2014. "Happiness and job satisfaction in urban China: A comparative study of two generations of migrants and urban locals," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(10), pages 2160-2184, August.
    2. C Cindy Fan & Mingjie Sun & Siqi Zheng, 2011. "Migration and Split Households: A Comparison of Sole, Couple, and Family Migrants in Beijing, China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(9), pages 2164-2185, September.
    3. Appleton, Simon & Song, Lina, 2008. "Life Satisfaction in Urban China: Components and Determinants," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2325-2340, November.
    4. Rongwei Chu & Henry Hail, 2014. "Winding Road Toward the Chinese Dream: The U-shaped Relationship Between Income and Life Satisfaction Among Chinese Migrant Workers," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 235-246, August.
    5. Pu Hao & Shuangshuang Tang, 2015. "Floating or settling down: the effect of rural landholdings on the settlement intention of rural migrants in urban China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(9), pages 1979-1999, September.
    6. Kam Wing Chan, 2010. "The Global Financial Crisis and Migrant Workers in China: ‘There is No Future as a Labourer; Returning to the Village has No Meaning’," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 659-677, September.
    7. Yaohui Zhao, 1999. "Leaving the Countryside: Rural-to-Urban Migration Decisions in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 281-286, May.
    8. Wang, Chunchao & Zhang, Chenglei & Ni, Jinlan & Zhang, Haifeng & Zhang, Junsen, 2019. "Family migration in China: Do migrant children affect parental settlement intention?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 416-428.
    9. Hilke Brockmann & Jan Delhey & Christian Welzel & Hao Yuan, 2009. "The China Puzzle: Falling Happiness in a Rising Economy," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 387-405, August.
    10. Lu, Yao & Qin, Lijian, 2014. "Healthy migrant and salmon bias hypotheses: A study of health and internal migration in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 41-48.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yanxu Li & Zhenfa Xie & Bo Li & Muhammad Mohiuddin, 2022. "The Impacts of In Situ Urbanization on Housing, Mobility and Employment of Local Residents in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Kuo Zhang & Jipeng Pei & Shu Wang & Karlis Rokpelnis & Xiao Yu, 2022. "Life Satisfaction in China, 2010–2018: Trends and Unique Determinants," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 2311-2348, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhiming Cheng & Vinod Mishra & Ingrid Nielsen & Russell Smyth & Ben Zhe Wang, 2017. "Wellbeing in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 1-10, May.
    2. Wang, Chunchao & Zhang, Chenglei & Ni, Jinlan & Zhang, Haifeng & Zhang, Junsen, 2019. "Family migration in China: Do migrant children affect parental settlement intention?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 416-428.
    3. Zhiming Cheng & Haining Wang & Russell Smyth, 2014. "Happiness and job satisfaction in urban China: A comparative study of two generations of migrants and urban locals," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(10), pages 2160-2184, August.
    4. Asadullah, M. Niaz & Xiao, Saizi & Yeoh, Emile, 2018. "Subjective well-being in China, 2005–2010: The role of relative income, gender, and location," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 83-101.
    5. Zhifang Su & Jr‐Tsung Huang & Arthur Jin Lin, 2021. "House price expectations, mortgages, and subjective well‐being in urban China," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 1540-1562, December.
    6. Hong, Yan-Zhen & Su, Yi-Ju & Chang, Hung-Hao, 2023. "Analyzing the relationship between income and life satisfaction of Forest farm households - a behavioral economics approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    7. Andrew E. Clark & Claudia Senik, 2010. "Will GDP growth increase happiness in developing countries?," PSE Working Papers halshs-00564985, HAL.
    8. Zhiming Cheng & Russell Smyth & Gong Sun, 2013. "Participation and Expenditure of Rural-Urban Migrants in the Illegal Lottery in China," Monash Economics Working Papers 24-13, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    9. Wang, Jinxian & Wang, Yangjie & Sun, Cuicui & Chen, Xiaohong, 2021. "Does mandatory air quality information disclosure raise happiness? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Qin Gao & Fuhua Zhai, 2017. "Public Assistance, Economic Prospect, and Happiness in Urban China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 451-473, May.
    11. Hania Wu & Tony Tam, 2015. "Economic Development and Socioeconomic Inequality of Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Time-Series Analysis of Urban China, 2003–2011," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 401-425, November.
    12. Huasheng Zhu & Junwei Feng & Maojun Wang & Fan Xu, 2017. "Sustaining Regional Advantages in Manufacturing: Skill Accumulation of Rural–Urban Migrant Workers in the Coastal Area of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, January.
    13. Vinod Mishra & Ingrid Nielsen & Russell Smyth, 2014. "How Does Relative Income and Variations in Short-Run Wellbeing Affect Wellbeing in the Long Run? Empirical Evidence From China’s Korean Minority," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 67-91, January.
    14. Haining Wang & Zhiming Cheng & Russell Smyth, 2015. "Does Consuming More Make You Happier? Evidence from Chinese Panel Data," Monash Economics Working Papers 29-15, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    15. repec:bof:bofitp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201508181355 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Martijn Hendriks & Kai Ludwigs & Ruut Veenhoven, 2016. "Why are Locals Happier than Internal Migrants? The Role of Daily Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 481-508, January.
    17. repec:zbw:bofitp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201508181355 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Yuqi Liu & Ye Liu & Yanliu Lin, 2021. "Upward or downward comparison? Migrants’ socioeconomic status and subjective wellbeing in Chinese cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(12), pages 2490-2513, September.
    19. Zhiming Cheng, 2014. "The Effects of Employee Involvement and Participation on Subjective Wellbeing: Evidence from Urban China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 457-483, September.
    20. Honghao Ren & Henk Folmer & Arno J. Van der Vlist, 2018. "The Impact of Home Ownership on Life Satisfaction in Urban China: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 397-422, February.
    21. Carlsson, Fredrik & Lampi, Elina & Li, Wanxin & Martinsson, Peter, 2014. "Subjective well-being among preadolescents and their parents – Evidence of intergenerational transmission of well-being from urban China," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 11-18.
    22. Jiayuan Li & John Raine, 2014. "The Time Trend of Life Satisfaction in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 409-427, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3415-:d:241735. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.