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Migration and Labor Mobility in China

Author

Listed:
  • Cai Fang

    (Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

  • Du Yang

    (Division of Labor and Human Capital of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

  • Wang Meiyan

    (Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Abstract

China has witnessed the largest labor migration since the reform and opening up policies were implemented. According to the most recent statistics, the total number of rural to urban migrant workers reached 136 million. Migrants are defined as persons who have left out of township for more than 6 months. The migration flow has propelled the economic and societal transition in China through labor productivity enhancement and social restructuring. Accordingly, the Chinese government has improved the migration policies with increasing migration flow and the changes of labor market situations. This report is organized as follows. Section one briefly introduces when and how the migration started by reviewing the history, size and trend, impacts of migration in China and the vulnerability of migrants. Section two reviews the main migration policy changes in the past three decades. Section three illuminates the Lewisian turning point that marks economic development and transitioning in China. Section four discusses the relevance of China’s experiences to other developing economies in terms of economic development and migration policy changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Cai Fang & Du Yang & Wang Meiyan, 2009. "Migration and Labor Mobility in China," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-09, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Apr 2009.
    • Handle: RePEc:hdr:papers:hdrp-2009-09
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Min Gong & David Krantz & Elke Weber, 2014. "Why Chinese discount future financial and environmental gains but not losses more than Americans," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 103-124, October.
    2. Michele Bruni & Claudio Tabacchi, 2011. "Present and Future of the Chinese Labour Market," Center for the Analysis of Public Policies (CAPP) 0083, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    3. John WHALLEY & Chunbing XING, 2014. "The regional distribution of skill premia in urban China: Implications for growth and inequality," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(3), pages 395-419, September.
    4. Xing, Chunbing & Li, Shi, 2012. "Residual wage inequality in urban China, 1995–2007," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 205-222.
    5. Nie, Haifeng & Xing, Chunbing, 2019. "Education expansion, assortative marriage, and income inequality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 37-51.
    6. Martin Bell & Salut Muhidin, 2009. "Cross-National Comparisons of Internal Migration," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-30, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Jul 2009.
    7. Ha, Wei & Yi, Junjian & Zhang, Junsen, 2009. "Internal Migration and Income Inequality in China: Evidence from Village Panel Data," MPRA Paper 16896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Feng Li & Xuesong Lu & Paul S. F. Yip, 2021. "Comparing Accidental Drownings Between Local Permanent Residents and Internal Migrants in Pudong, Shanghai, China (2004–2017)," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 691-703, June.
    9. Yuwen Lyu & Julian Chun-Chung Chow & Ji-Jen Hwang & Zhi Li & Cheng Ren & Jungui Xie, 2022. "Psychological Well-Being of Left-Behind Children in China: Text Mining of the Social Media Website Zhihu," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-13, February.
    10. Kleinwechter, Ulrich & Grethe, Harald, 2011. "Trade reform, migration, and a Chinese village economy," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114753, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Luo, Dongdong & Xing, Chunbing, 2016. "Population adjustments in response to local demand shifts in China," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 101-114.
    12. John Whalley & Chunbing Xing, 2010. "The Regional Distribution of Skill Premia in Urban China," NBER Working Papers 16575, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Luo, Dongdong & Xing, Chunbing, 2015. "Who Is More Mobile in Response to Local Demand Shifts in China?," IZA Discussion Papers 9063, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Wei Ha & Junjian Yi & Junsen Zhang, 2009. "Inequality and Internal Migration in China: Evidence from Village Panel Data," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-27, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Jul 2009.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration in China; Labor mobility; Impact of crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General

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