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Relocating or Redefined: A New Perspective on Urbanization in China

Author

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  • Li Gan
  • Qing He
  • Ruichao Si
  • Daichun Yi

Abstract

China's fast economic growth over the past 40 years has been accompanied by an increasingly rapid rate of urbanization, from about 20% in the early 1980s to 60% in 2018. In addition to natural population growth, rural-urban migration is generally believed to be a dominant driving force. Motivated by a recent finding of a high housing vacancy rate in urban China, however, we find that a large share of urban population growth comes from community reclassification. These redefined migrants (from communities which were reclassified from rural to urban) accounted for 33.4% of total urban population growth from 2010 to 2015. Households in reclassified communities share similar characteristics with those from rural villages, particularly in their ownership of housing. Furthermore, we provide evidence that at the prefecture level, the size of redefined migrants is significantly related to residential land supply, and to the proportion of households holding vacant housing units, but not to the change of night-time light. These results suggest that an inaccurate account of urbanization is an important factor for the oversupply of residential housing units in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Gan & Qing He & Ruichao Si & Daichun Yi, 2019. "Relocating or Redefined: A New Perspective on Urbanization in China," NBER Working Papers 26585, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26585
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Cai, Zhengyu & Yu, Chin-Hsien & Zhu, Chunhui, 2021. "Government-led urbanization and natural gas demand in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. Ma, Shuang & Li, Xuan & Wu, Xi, 2024. "Minimum wage and internal labor migration: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    3. Yanxu Li & Zhenfa Xie & Bo Li & Muhammad Mohiuddin, 2022. "The Impacts of In Situ Urbanization on Housing, Mobility and Employment of Local Residents in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Wen, Xin & Cheng, Zhiming & Tani, Massimiliano, 2024. "Rural-urban migration, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    5. Xu, Yuanwei & Wang, Feicheng, 2022. "The health consequence of rising housing prices in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 114-137.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations

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