IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v6y2014i12p8639-8660d42873.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Affecting Migration Intentions in Ecological Restoration Areas and Their Implications for the Sustainability of Ecological Migration Policy in Arid Northwest China

Author

Listed:
  • Yongjin Li

    (School of Philosophy and Sociology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    Institute of Arid Agroecology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China)

  • David López-Carr

    (Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA)

  • Wenjiang Chen

    (School of Philosophy and Sociology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China)

Abstract

Ecological migration policy has been proposed and implemented as a means for depopulating ecological restoration areas in the arid Northwest China. Migration intention is critical to the effectiveness of ecological migration policy. However, studies on migration intention in relation to ecological migration policy in China remain scant. Thus this paper aims to investigate the rural residents’ migration intentions and their affecting factors under ecological migration policy in Minqin County, an ecological restoration area, located at the lower terminus of Shiyang River Basin in arid Northwest China. The data for this study come from a randomly sampled household questionnaire survey. Results from logistic regression modelling indicate that most residents do not intend to migrate, despite rigid eco-environmental conditions and governance polices threatening livelihood sustainability. In addition to demographic and socio-economic factors, the eco-environmental factors are also significantly correlated with the possibility of a resident intending to migrate. The implications of the significant independent variables for the sustainability of ecological migration policy are discussed. The paper concludes that ecological migration policies may ultimately be more sustainable when taking into account household interests within complex migration intention contexts, such as household livelihoods dynamics and environmental change.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongjin Li & David López-Carr & Wenjiang Chen, 2014. "Factors Affecting Migration Intentions in Ecological Restoration Areas and Their Implications for the Sustainability of Ecological Migration Policy in Arid Northwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(12), pages 1-22, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:12:p:8639-8660:d:42873
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/12/8639/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/12/8639/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ng, Ying Chu, 2011. "The productive efficiency of Chinese hospitals," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 428-439, September.
    2. Debbie Dickinson & Michael Webber, 2007. "Environmental resettlement and development, on the steppes of Inner Mongolia, PRC," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 537-561.
    3. Stark, Oded & Bloom, David E, 1985. "The New Economics of Labor Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 173-178, May.
    4. Gary Sandefur & Wilbur Scott, 1981. "A dynamic analysis of migration: an assessment of the effects of age, family and career variables," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 18(3), pages 355-368, August.
    5. Richard Black & Stephen R. G. Bennett & Sandy M. Thomas & John R. Beddington, 2011. "Migration as adaptation," Nature, Nature, vol. 478(7370), pages 447-449, October.
    6. Xiushi Yang, 2000. "Determinants of Migration Intentions in Hubei Province, China: Individual versus Family Migration," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(5), pages 769-787, May.
    7. Zhang, Wan-Shou & Li, Feng-Min & Xiong, You-Cai & Xia, Qing, 2012. "Econometric analysis of the determinants of adoption of raising sheep in folds by farmers in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 145-152.
    8. He, Xue-Feng & Cao, Huhua & Li, Feng-Min, 2007. "Econometric analysis of the determinants of adoption of rainwater harvesting and supplementary irrigation technology (RHSIT) in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 243-250, May.
    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. Tanvir Pavel & Syed Hasan & Nafisa Halim & Pallab Mozumder, 2018. "Natural Hazards and Internal Migration: The Role of Transient versus Permanent Shocks," Working Papers 1806, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    2. Yuting Cao & Ran Liu & Wei Qi & Jin Wen, 2020. "Spatial Heterogeneity of Housing Space Consumption in Urban China: Locals vs. Inter-and Intra-Provincial Migrants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-26, June.
    3. Bing Xue & Mario Tobias, 2015. "Sustainability in China: Bridging Global Knowledge with Local Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-7, March.
    4. Karl S. Zimmerer & Steven J. Vanek, 2016. "Toward the Integrated Framework Analysis of Linkages among Agrobiodiversity, Livelihood Diversification, Ecological Systems, and Sustainability amid Global Change," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-28, April.
    5. Xi Wei & Wei Song & Ya Shao & Xiangwen Cai, 2022. "Progress of Ecological Restoration Research Based on Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Walelign, Solomon Zena & Lujala, Päivi, 2022. "A place-based framework for assessing resettlement capacity in the context of displacement induced by climate change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Mengdi Li & Yaoping Cui & Yaochen Qin & Zhifang Shi & Nan Li & Xiaoyan Liu & Yadi Run & Oliva Gabriel Chubwa, 2021. "Estimating the Impact of Ecological Migrants on the South-to-North Water Diversion in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-16, November.

    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. Cristina Cattaneo & Emanuele Massetti, 2019. "Does Harmful Climate Increase Or Decrease Migration? Evidence From Rural Households In Nigeria," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(04), pages 1-36, November.
    2. Clark Gray & Richard Bilsborrow, 2013. "Environmental Influences on Human Migration in Rural Ecuador," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(4), pages 1217-1241, August.
    3. Aleksandr Grigoryan & Knar Khachatryan, 2018. "Remittances and Emigration Intentions: Evidence from Armenia," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp626, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    4. Amr Abdelwahed & Anne Goujon & Leiwen Jiang, 2020. "The Migration Intentions of Young Egyptians," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-38, November.
    5. Clark Gray & Erika Wise, 2016. "Country-specific effects of climate variability on human migration," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 555-568, April.
    6. Chen Chen & C Cindy Fan, 2018. "Gender and generational differences in first outward- and first inward-moves: An event-history analysis of rural migrants in China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(8), pages 1646-1669, November.
    7. Qingfeng Han & Kadambot H. M. Siddique & Fengmin Li, 2018. "Adoption of Conservation Tillage on the Semi-Arid Loess Plateau of Northwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, July.
    8. Hajer Habib, 2023. "Remittances and Labor Supply: Evidence from Tunisia," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 1870-1899, June.
    9. Ziesemer, Thomas H.W., 2010. "The impact of the credit crisis on poor developing countries: Growth, worker remittances, accumulation and migration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1230-1245, September.
    10. Bo Li & Muhammad Mohiuddin & Qian Liu, 2019. "Determinants and Differences of Township Hospital Efficiency among Chinese Provinces," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-16, May.
    11. Ning Xu & Chang’an Li, 2023. "Migration and Rural Sustainability: Relative Poverty Alleviation by Geographical Mobility in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-27, April.
    12. Guy Stecklov & Paul Winters & Marco Stampini & Benjamin Davis, 2003. "Can Public Transfers Reduce Mexican Migration? A study based on randomized experimental data," Working Papers 03-16, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    13. Karina Acosta & Hengyu Gu, 2022. "Locked up? The development and internal migration nexus in Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo Sobre Economía Regional y Urbana 19931, Banco de la República, Economía Regional.
    14. Atsede Desta Tegegne & Marianne Penker, 2016. "Determinants of rural out-migration in Ethiopia: Who stays and who goes?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(34), pages 1011-1044.
    15. Maxmillan Martin & Yi hyun Kang & Motasim Billah & Tasneem Siddiqui & Richard Black & Dominic Kniveton, 2017. "Climate-influenced migration in Bangladesh: The need for a policy realignment," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35, pages 357-379, October.
    16. Alex Sienaert, 2007. "Migration, Remittances and Public Transfers: Evidence from South Africa," Economics Series Working Papers 351, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    17. Tineke Fokkema & Eralba Cela & Elena Ambrosetti, 2013. "Giving from the Heart or from the Ego? Motives behind Remittances of the Second Generation in Europe," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 539-572, September.
    18. Stark, Oded, 2021. "Reexamining the influence of conditional cash transfers on migration from a gendered lens: Comment," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 58(1), pages 379-381.
    19. Driouchi, Ahmed & Zouag, Nada, 2010. "Internal Mobility and Likelihood of Skill Losses in Localities of Emigration: Theory and Preliminary Empirical Application to Some Developing Economies," MPRA Paper 21799, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Apr 2010.
    20. de Arce, Rafael & Mahia, Ramon, 2008. "Determinants of Bilateral Immigration Flows Between The European Union and some Mediterranean Partner Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey," MPRA Paper 14547, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    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:6:y:2014:i:12:p:8639-8660:d:42873. 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.