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Temporary Migration and Regional Development in China

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  • Z Ma

    (Division of Social Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong)

Abstract

A new approach to migration in developing countries is used in this paper, which integrates into the migration process the experiences of moving to cities, working in urban areas, and returning to the countryside. As a result, rural labor migration is directly linked to rural development through remittances, as well as through physical and human capital brought back by return migrants. Migration information is mainly drawn from China's 1995 1% National Population Survey. Findings from other recent migration surveys are also incorporated. It has been found that patterns of temporary migration are mainly shaped by the magnetic force of the growth-pole region. Job opportunities created there in labor-intensive industries have attracted large numbers of migrants, first from the surrounding rural areas and then from the peripheral regions, enhancing migration propensity in both areas. As a result, migrations from the periphery to the growth-pole region become the largest interregional flow. With respect to the effects of temporary migration on the development of the rural origin, it is found that the enhancing effect of migration on net income is large. In some relatively poor provinces, migrants' net income can even outweigh the provincial rural net income. More importantly, a return trend has recently emerged. About 4 million migrants returned to rural areas in the early 1990s, bringing back both physical and human capital. The volume is increasing, with returnees playing a crucial role in the development of rural areas in the peripheral regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Z Ma, 1999. "Temporary Migration and Regional Development in China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(5), pages 783-802, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:31:y:1999:i:5:p:783-802
    DOI: 10.1068/a310783
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhongdong Ma & Kao-Lee Liaw, 1997. "Explaining hierarchical and interprovincial migrations of Chinese young adults by personal factors and place attributes: A nested logit analysis," Mathematical Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 217-239.
    2. Oded Stark, 1991. "The Migration of Labor," Blackwell Books, Wiley Blackwell, number 1557860300, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cécile Batisse & Nong Zhu, 2011. "Migrations et discriminations professionnelles dans la province du Guangdong," CERDI Working papers halshs-00578075, HAL.
    2. Vendryes, Thomas, 2011. "Migration constraints and development: Hukou and capital accumulation in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 669-692.
    3. Jiachen Ning & Pingyu Zhang & Qifeng Yang & Zuopeng Ma, 2023. "Spatial Pattern of Farmland Transfer in Liaoning Province, China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Nong Zhu, 2002. "Impact des écarts de revenu sur les décisions de migration en Chine," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 10(3), pages 135-158.
    5. Mkrtchyan, N. & Florinskaya, Y., 2019. "Residents of Small and Mid-Size Towns of Russia: Labor Migration as an Alternative to Permanent Transfer," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 43(3), pages 78-94.
    6. Chabé-Ferret, Bastien & Machado, Joël & Wahba, Jackline, 2018. "Remigration intentions and migrants' behavior," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 56-72.
    7. Nong Zhu & Xubei Luo & Heng-fu Zou, 2012. "Migration, Urbanization and City Growth in China," CEMA Working Papers 545, China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics.
    8. Nong Zhu & Heng-fu Zou, 2006. "Services for Urban Floating Population in China," CEMA Working Papers 562, China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics.
    9. Zhu, Nong, 2002. "The impacts of income gaps on migration decisions in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 213-230.
    10. Nong Zhu & Cecile Batisse, 2014. "Migrations, emplois et discriminations : le cas des “paysans-ouvriers” de la province du Guangdong," CIRANO Working Papers 2014s-07, CIRANO.
    11. Nong ZHU, 2001. "Impacts of Income Gap on Migration Decision in China," Working Papers 200117, CERDI.
    12. Cécile BATISSE & Nong ZHU, 2011. "Migrations et discriminations professionnelles dans la province du Guangdong," Working Papers 201107, CERDI.
    13. Thomas Vendryes, 2011. "Migration constraints and development: Hukou and capital accumulation in China," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00783794, HAL.
    14. Rosario Maria Ballatore & Adele Grompone & Lucia Lucci & Patrizia Passiglia & Andrea Sechi, 2017. "Refugees and asylum seekers in Italy and in the EU," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 377, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    15. Lei Yan & Xubin Lei & Kairong Hong & Hui Li & Mengyuan Chen, 2022. "Improving Farmer Willingness to Participate in the Transfer of Land Rights in Rural China: A Preference-Based Income Distribution Scheme," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-22, March.
    16. Liu, Ziming & Yu, Lu, 2020. "Stay or Leave? The Role of Air Pollution in Urban Migration Choices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    17. Cécile Batisse & Nong Zhu, 2011. "Migrations et discriminations professionnelles dans la province du Guangdong," Working Papers halshs-00578075, HAL.
    18. Thomas Gries & Manfred Kraft & Manuel Simon, 2016. "Explaining inter-provincial migration in China," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(4), pages 709-731, November.

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