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Barriers to the Acquisition of Urban Hukou in Chinese Cities

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  • Li Zhang
  • Li Tao

Abstract

The hukou system is one of the most enduring legacies of the 20th-century Chinese socialist control instruments. The hukou in the Chinese context is an official identity of residency rights in a given geographic unit. Cities use the hukou policy to impede the urban hukou of migrants who are deemed unworthy in terms of socioeconomic attributes. Based on policy documents and data collected from forty-five sample cities, this paper offers statistical measures and explanations for barriers to urban hukou nationwide. The paper introduces the city's entry barrier (CEB) index to rank the degree of difficulty of acquiring urban hukou and performs factor analysis to identify the key determinants that significantly explain the various levels of the CEB index across cities. Our empirical findings suggest that a more developed city tends to develop a higher entry barrier to its hukou. The intention of city governments to impose barriers to urban hukou is enshrined largely in their progrowth mentality and their metaphors on the political economy of urbanization.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Zhang & Li Tao, 2012. "Barriers to the Acquisition of Urban Hukou in Chinese Cities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(12), pages 2883-2900, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:44:y:2012:i:12:p:2883-2900
    DOI: 10.1068/a4551
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simon Zhao & L. Zhang, 2007. "Foreign Direct Investment and the Formation of Global City-Regions in China," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(7), pages 979-994.
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    13. Song, Yang, 2014. "What should economists know about the current Chinese hukou system?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 200-212.
    14. Chen, Zhu & Shang, Qianqian & Zhang, Jipeng, 2024. "Recent progress in hukou reform and labor market integration in China: 1996–2022," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    15. Qian Zhang & Joris Hoekstra, 2020. "Policies towards Migrants in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Region, China: Does Local Hukou Still Matter after the Hukou Reform?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-24, December.
    16. Yanqi Xie & Shuifa Ke & Xiaojing Li, 2023. "Psychological Resilience and Farmers’ Homestead Withdrawal: Evidence from Traditional Agricultural Regions in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, May.
    17. 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.
    18. Rui Zhou & Hiroatsu Fukuda & You Li & Yafei Wang, 2023. "Comparison of Willingness to Pay for Quality Air and Renewable Energy Considering Urban Living Experience," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, January.
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    20. Vahan Sargsyan, 2015. "Differential Treatment in the Chinese Labor Market. Is Hukou Type the Only Problem?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp548, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.

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