IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v116y2014i1p307-326.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Migration on Fertility under China’s Underlying Restrictions: A Comparative Study Between Permanent and Temporary Migrants

Author

Listed:
  • Ying Liang
  • Yingying Yi
  • Qiufen Sun

Abstract

Compared with that in other countries, the issue of fertility in China is more complicated because of its restriction policy or system. Several major hypotheses have been proposed to explain and predict the impact of migration on China’s fertility regardless of China’s real situation. Therefore, this paper analyzes the impact of migration on fertility considering China’s underlying restrictions using the data from the Chinese General Social Survey carried out in 2008. The social class in this study was divided into two, namely urban class and rural class. By building the 2 × 2 mobility tables and the diagonal mobility model, the study determined the impact of migration on fertility and analyzed the influence of some restrictions, such as family planning, traditional fertility concept, and household registration system. Results show that migration greatly affects fertility: upward migration (i.e., from rural to urban) may decrease the fertility, whereas downward migration (i.e., from urban to rural) may increase it. The degree of decline on fertility is greater than that of increase. Family planning still plays a role in fertility decline. Traditional concepts on fertility, for example, bringing up sons to take care of parents in their old age and preferring boys to girls, are anchored on the people’s mind, which is detrimental to the stability of the fertility rate. Moreover, the household registration system primarily influences the fertility behavior of temporary migration, with a negative relationship between them. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Liang & Yingying Yi & Qiufen Sun, 2014. "The Impact of Migration on Fertility under China’s Underlying Restrictions: A Comparative Study Between Permanent and Temporary Migrants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 307-326, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:116:y:2014:i:1:p:307-326
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0280-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11205-013-0280-4
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-013-0280-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hongbin Li & Junsen Zhang, 2007. "Do High Birth Rates Hamper Economic Growth?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(1), pages 110-117, February.
    2. Kam Wing Chan, 2010. "The Household Registration System and Migrant Labor in China: Notes on a Debate," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(2), pages 357-364, June.
    3. Martin Dribe & Jan Van Bavel & Cameron Campbell, 2012. "Social mobility and demographic behaviour: Long term perspectives," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 26(8), pages 173-190.
    4. Robert D. Retherford & Minja Kim Choe & Jiajian Chen & Li Xiru & Cui Hongyan, 2005. "How Far Has Fertility in China Really Declined?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 31(1), pages 57-84, March.
    5. Mark R. Rosenzweig & Junsen Zhang, 2009. "Do Population Control Policies Induce More Human Capital Investment? Twins, Birth Weight and China's "One-Child" Policy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 76(3), pages 1149-1174.
    6. Shuming Bao & Örn B. Bodvarsson & Jack W. Hou & Yaohui Zhao, 2011. "The Regulation Of Migration In A Transition Economy: China'S Hukou System," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 29(4), pages 564-579, October.
    7. Avraham Ebenstein, 2010. "The "Missing Girls" of China and the Unintended Consequences of the One Child Policy," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 45(1).
    8. Yao, Shujie & Zhang, Zongyi & Hanmer, Lucia, 2004. "Growing inequality and poverty in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 145-163.
    9. Nadja Milewski, 2010. "Immigrant fertility in West Germany: Is there a socialization effect in transitions to second and third births? [Fécondité des immigrées en Allemagne de l’Ouest: existe-t-il un effet de la socializ," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(3), pages 297-323, August.
    10. Hertel, Thomas & Zhai, Fan, 2006. "Labor market distortions, rural-urban inequality and the opening of China's economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 76-109, January.
    11. David Clifford, 2009. "Spousal separation, selectivity and contextual effects: exploring the relationship between international labour migration and fertility in post-Soviet Tajikistan," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(32), pages 945-975.
    12. Xiushi Yang, 2000. "The Fertility Impact of Temporary Migration in China: A Detachment Hypothesis," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 16(2), pages 163-183, June.
    13. Erikson, Robert & Goldthorpe, John H., 2009. "Social class, family background, and intergenerational mobility: A comment on Mcintosh and Munk," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 118-120, January.
    14. Jean Drèze & Mamta Murthi, 2001. "Fertility, Education, and Development: Evidence from India," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 27(1), pages 33-63, March.
    15. Alice Goldstein & Michael White & idney Goldstein, 1997. "Migration, fertility, and state policy in Hubei Province, China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 34(4), pages 481-491, November.
    16. Luciana Quaranta, 2011. "Agency of Change: Fertility and Seasonal Migration in a Nineteenth Century Alpine Community [Les agents du changement: fécondité et migration saisonnière dans une communauté des Alpes au 19e siècle," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 27(4), pages 457-485, November.
    17. Pia Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny & Emily Kerr, 2012. "Chinese Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market: Effects of Post-Tiananmen Immigration Policy," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 456-482, June.
    18. Whalley, John & Zhang, Shunming, 2007. "A numerical simulation analysis of (Hukou) labour mobility restrictions in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 392-410, July.
    19. Hill Kulu, 2005. "Migration and Fertility: Competing Hypotheses Re-examined," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 21(1), pages 51-87, March.
    20. Xiaogang Wu & Donald Treiman, 2004. "The household registration system and social stratification in China: 1955–1996," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(2), pages 363-384, May.
    21. David P. Lindstrom & Silvia E. Giorguli-Saucedo, 2007. "The interrelationship of fertility, family maintenance and Mexico-U.S. Migration," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 17(28), pages 821-858.
    22. Matthew J. Sobel, 1981. "Myopic Solutions of Markov Decision Processes and Stochastic Games," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(5), pages 995-1009, October.
    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. Guadalupe Aguilera & Kim Korinek, 2020. "Immigrant Fertility in Comparative Perspective: South Africa and the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(1), pages 297-322, February.
    2. Ying Liang, 2015. "Correlations Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Interpersonal Trust: Comparisons Between Two Generations of Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 677-700, September.
    3. Massimiliano Tani, 2017. "Hukou Changes and Subjective Well-Being in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 47-61, May.
    4. 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.
    5. Venkatesh Murthy & Diptanshu Gaur & Korak Bhaduri, 2022. "Parents, Pupils, Pedagogues, and Policies: A Rectangle of School Education for Immigrant’s Children," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 35(5), pages 607-634, October.

    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. Allan Puur & Leen Rahnu & Liili Abuladze & Luule Sakkeus & Sergei Zakharov, 2017. "Childbearing among first- and second-generation Russians in Estonia against the background of the sending and host countries," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(41), pages 1209-1254.
    2. Pi, Jiancai & Zhang, Pengqing, 2016. "Hukou system reforms and skilled-unskilled wage inequality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 90-103.
    3. Fang, Hai & Eggleston, Karen N. & Rizzo, John A. & Zeckhauser, Richard, 2010. "Female Employment and Fertility in Rural China," Working Paper Series rwp10-011, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    4. Menzies, Gordon & Xiao, Sylvia Xiaolin & Dixon, Peter & Peng, Xiujian & Rimmer, Maureen, 2016. "Rural-led exchange rate appreciation in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 15-30.
    5. Eleonora Mussino & Salvatore Strozza, 2012. "Does Citizenship Still Matter? Second Birth Risks of Migrants from Albania, Morocco, and Romania in Italy [La citoyenneté compte-t-elle encore? Les probabilités d’une deuxième naissance pour les mi," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 28(3), pages 269-302, August.
    6. Hanzhi Hu, 2023. "The Consequences of Fertility Decline on Educational Attainment in China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(6), pages 1-30, December.
    7. Li, Bingjing & Zhang, Hongliang, 2017. "Does population control lead to better child quality? Evidence from China’s one-child policy enforcement," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 246-260.
    8. Hu, Yun-Zhi & Xuan, Ye & Wang, Hai-Feng, 2024. "Does “son preference” affect rural floating parents’ willingness to settle in towns and cities?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PB), pages 485-510.
    9. Fields, Gary & Song, Yang, 2020. "Modeling migration barriers in a two-sector framework: A welfare analysis of the hukou reform in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 293-301.
    10. Xiaoyu Wu & Jianmei Zhao, 2020. "Risk sharing, siblings, and household equity investment: evidence from urban China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 461-482, April.
    11. Marianne Tønnessen & Ben Wilson, 2023. "Visualising Immigrant Fertility -- Profiles of Childbearing and their Implications for Migration Research," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 23-46, March.
    12. Seema Jayachandran, 2017. "Fertility Decline and Missing Women," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 118-139, January.
    13. Anping Chen & Nicolaas Groenewold, 2017. "An increase in the retirement age in China: the regional economic effects," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(7), pages 702-721, February.
    14. Haoming Liu, 2014. "The quality–quantity trade-off: evidence from the relaxation of China’s one-child policy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 565-602, April.
    15. Anping Chen & Nicolaas Groenewold, 2011. "Regional Equality and National Development in China: Is There a Trade‐Off?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 628-669, December.
    16. Dominique Meurs & Patrick A. Puhani & Friederike Von Haaren-Giebel, 2017. "Number of siblings and educational choices of immigrant children: evidence from first- and second-generation immigrants," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1137-1158, December.
    17. Yong Cai, 2010. "China's Below‐Replacement Fertility: Government Policy or Socioeconomic Development?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(3), pages 419-440, September.
    18. Chen, Anping & Groenewold, Nicolaas, 2010. "Reducing regional disparities in China: An evaluation of alternative policies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 189-198, June.
    19. Timothy J. Hatton, 2015. "Stature and Sibship: Historical Evidence," CEH Discussion Papers 039, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    20. Mkadmi, Jamel Eddine & Bakari, Sayef & Msai, Achwak, 2021. "Assessing the Impact of Tax Policies on Economic Growth in Tunisia: New Empirical and Policy Analysis," MPRA Paper 109023, 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:spr:soinre:v:116:y:2014:i:1:p:307-326. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.