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Migrant Workers in the Urban Labour Market of Shenzhen, China

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  • Mark Y Wang
  • Jiaping Wu

Abstract

In view of recent changes in both migration patterns and urban labour market conditions, the permanent settlement migration paradigm has become insufficient to guide our understanding of rural-to-urban migrant workers in China's market transition. Using Shenzhen City as a case study we consider migrant workers as enabling agents who interact with the urban labour market. We therefore examine the ways that migrant workers' social capital accumulation, migration experience, and job mobility influence urban labour market dynamics. In painting a picture of migrant workers we complement existing institutional and labour market analyses. As we demonstrate, by frequently changing jobs and destination cities, migrant workers accumulate social and human capital so as to improve their opportunities in the urban labour market. This is evidenced by migrants' improved occupational positions and increased wage earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Y Wang & Jiaping Wu, 2010. "Migrant Workers in the Urban Labour Market of Shenzhen, China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(6), pages 1457-1475, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:42:y:2010:i:6:p:1457-1475
    DOI: 10.1068/a42381
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cai, Fang & Wang, Dewen & Du, Yang, 2002. "Regional disparity and economic growth in China: The impact of labor market distortions," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 197-212.
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    3. James Heckman & Lance Lochner & Christopher Taber, 1998. "Explaining Rising Wage Inequality: Explanations With A Dynamic General Equilibrium Model of Labor Earnings With Heterogeneous Agents," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 1(1), pages 1-58, January.
    4. Meng, Xin & Zhang, Junsen, 2001. "The Two-Tier Labor Market in Urban China: Occupational Segregation and Wage Differentials between Urban Residents and Rural Migrants in Shanghai," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 485-504, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kilian Pamela Hartmann & Schiller Daniel & Kraas Frauke, 2012. "Workplace quality and labour turnover in the electronics industry of the Pearl River Delta, China: Contrasting employer and employee perspectives," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 56(1-2), pages 58-79, October.
    2. 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.
    3. Jiaping Wu, 2014. "The Rise of Ethnicity under China's Market Reforms," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 967-984, May.

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