Social Integration of Rural-Urban Migrants in China

Yue, Zhongshan; Li, Shuzhuo; Feldman, Marcus W.

doi:10.1142/9428

Cited by 13 publications

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“…Data show that there were 169.3 million such rural migrants nationally in 2016 (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2016); this has become an issue because internal migrants who are mostly from rural areas often have to endure disadvantaged and marginalized social positions in their host cities, disproportionate to their enormous contributions to burgeoning urban economies (K. H. Zhang & Song, 2003). Rural-urban migrant workers usually accept so-called 3D jobs-that is, jobs that are dirty, dangerous, and demeaning (Meng, 2012)-in order to have a reasonable quality of life, settle down, and integrate economically and socially into urban society (Y. Zhu, 2007).The problem of social integration has attracted attention from policymakers and researchers in recent years (Li, 2006;Wang & Fan, 2012;Yue, Li, & Feldman, 2016). In this context, literature and policy debates have often focused on the incompatibility of individual characteristics usually possessed by migrants with urban economies (Y. Zhu & Chen, 2010), including narrow social networks (Yue, Li, Jin, & Feldman, 2013) and their limited social participation in neighborhoods (Wu, 2012), as well as wide institutional restrictions such as the national household registration (hukou) system (Chan, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The problem of social integration has attracted attention from policymakers and researchers in recent years (Li, 2006;Wang & Fan, 2012;Yue, Li, & Feldman, 2016). In this context, literature and policy debates have often focused on the incompatibility of individual characteristics usually possessed by migrants with urban economies (Y. Zhu & Chen, 2010), including narrow social networks (Yue, Li, Jin, & Feldman, 2013) and their limited social participation in neighborhoods (Wu, 2012), as well as wide institutional restrictions such as the national household registration (hukou) system (Chan, 2010).…”

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The impacts of city-specific factors on social integration of Chinese migrant workers: A study using multilevel modeling

Tian

Sun

2018

Journal of Urban Affairs

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Rural migrants in China often face obstacles that prevent them from integrating economically and socially into their host cities. We explore the effects of host city-specific factors on the social integration of migrant workers in this article. To do this, we use a survey data set that includes a sample of migrants in nine cities in eastern and central China. We estimate a multilevel linear model (MLM), taking into account both individual and city characteristics; in the first place, we show that female, highly educated migrants who accompany their family members to new host cities are most easily integrated into local society. Regarding city-specific factors, individuals who move into urban areas within their own provinces where the dialect is similar and there is a relatively small existing rural migrant population tend to more easily integrate. We show that the economic conditions of a host city can exert both positive and negative effects on social integration.The social integration of rural migrants into host cities has become an urbanization challenge in China over the last 10 years. Data show that there were 169.3 million such rural migrants nationally in 2016 (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2016); this has become an issue because internal migrants who are mostly from rural areas often have to endure disadvantaged and marginalized social positions in their host cities, disproportionate to their enormous contributions to burgeoning urban economies (K. H. Zhang & Song, 2003). Rural-urban migrant workers usually accept so-called 3D jobs-that is, jobs that are dirty, dangerous, and demeaning (Meng, 2012)-in order to have a reasonable quality of life, settle down, and integrate economically and socially into urban society (Y. Zhu, 2007).The problem of social integration has attracted attention from policymakers and researchers in recent years (Li, 2006;Wang & Fan, 2012;Yue, Li, & Feldman, 2016). In this context, literature and policy debates have often focused on the incompatibility of individual characteristics usually possessed by migrants with urban economies (Y. Zhu & Chen, 2010), including narrow social networks (Yue, Li, Jin, & Feldman, 2013) and their limited social participation in neighborhoods (Wu, 2012), as well as wide institutional restrictions such as the national household registration (hukou) system (Chan, 2010). In addition to these factors, host city characteristics are important in this context because these will shape a migration experience (Brettell, 2003;Massey, 1990). These features have, however, to date not been fully addressed in the literature. The goal of this article is therefore to explore the contextual effects of socioeconomic conditions, demographic composition, institutions, and the culture of host cities on the integration of migrants. This is achieved via a multilevel modeling methodology that enables us to incorporate both individual and city-specific CONTACT Ming Tian

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The impacts of city-specific factors on social integration of Chinese migrant workers: A study using multilevel modeling

Tian

Sun

2018

Journal of Urban Affairs

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“…Referring to foreign studies and characteristics of Chinese domestic migrants, Chinese scholars usually define migrant integration from the perspective of social equity. Migrant integration refers to migrants gradually gaining basic economic and social insurance, accepting or adapting to the subculture of receiving cities, and engaging positive interactions with the local population on the basis of equal treatment between migrants and the established population [ 41 , 42 ]. Generally, Chinese scholars have studied migrant integration in China’s specific environment and formed four research paradigms.…”

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confidence: 99%

How do city-specific factors affect migrant integration in China? A study based on a hierarchical linear model of migrants and cities

et al. 2021

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Background Previous studies indicate that migrant integration is associated with migrants’ characteristics as well as restrictions and opportunities in receiving cities. However, the effect of receiving cities and the relationship between migrants and receiving cities have not been fully explored due to the lack of large samples from cities. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of receiving cities alone and their regulating role in the interaction with individual characteristics. Methods Cross-city data on 154,044 Chinese domestic migrants above 15 years old in 289 cities from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey are used. Migrant integration is assessed by a four-dimensional model proposed by Esser, which is slightly adjusted according to the characteristics of Chinese migrants. A hierarchical linear model is used to measure the proportion of effects of city factors in migrant integration as well as the effects when city factors are considered alone and in interaction with individual factors. Results The individual-level and city-level factors are responsible for 69.81% and 30.19% of the effect on migrant integration, respectively. City political factors do not affect migrant integration directly, and cities with larger sizes and higher wages can directly and significantly improve integration, while higher housing prices will directly inhibit integration. From the cross-level interaction of city and individual, different social, economic and political factors at the city level have an indirect impact on migrant integration by inhibiting or strengthening the effect of individual-level factors on migrant integration. Conclusion This study is one of the first to show the effect of cities and the relationship between receiving cities and migrants on migrant integration by keeping the national context constant. It is necessary to weaken the social and economic privileges associated with a city’s administrative level and reduce the negative impact of cities’ social and economic conditions by implementing city agglomeration, developing advantageous industries and optimizing the industrial structure. It is also essential to improve migrants’ socioeconomic capital through social support, occupation training and contiguous education.

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“…Due to high demand for labour in urban areas, the Chinese government has loosened the reigns of control regarding Hukou management, allowing agricultural Houkou populations to work and do business in urban areas. As a result of this change, many people have left their registered place of residence and have now begun to move to relatively developed areas for a better life [3,4]. In China, this migrant population has been defined as IMs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, they are more vulnerable to suboptimal working and living circumstances than the receiving societies. This includes taking on physically demanding jobs, working for long hours, and being largely excluded from accessing welfare services available to host residents, such as health care, insurance, and superannuation [3,4,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Disparity in Mental Health Between Two Generations of Internal Migrants (IMs) in China: Evidence from A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Chen

Zhang

Renzaho

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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Background: Internal migrants (IMs) are a large, vulnerable population in China and are mostly driven by national economic reform. IMs who were born before and after 1980, when the general social and economic reform began to appear in China, are considered to be two separate generations. The generational differences in mental health across IMs remain undocumented. In this study, the intergenerational disparity in IMs’ mental health, using data from a national cross-sectional study, was assessed. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the “National Internal Migrant Dynamic Monitoring Survey 2014” were used. IMs were divided into the “old” or “new” generation, based on their date of birth (before 1980 vs. from 1980 onwards). Mental health includes psychological distress, which was measured using the Kessler Screening Scale for Psychological Distress (K6), and perceived stress, which was measured with the Perceived Stress Scales (PSS-4). Two-level Generalized Linear Mixed Models were performed so as to assess the generation gap and associated factors of each group’s mental health. IM demographics, migration characteristics, and social integration indicators were controlled for when assessing the intergenerational disparity in mental health. Results: A total of 15,999 IMs from eight different cities participated in the survey. New generation migrants accounted for 61.5% (9838/15,999) of the total sample. After controlling for participants’ characteristics, new generation migrants had higher psychological distress scores (βad = 0.084, 95% CI: (0.026,0.193) and higher perceived stress scores (βad = 0.118, 95% CI: 0.029, 0.207) than the older generation. For both generations, factors associated with good mental health included high levels of social integration, personal autonomy, and life satisfaction, as well as self-rated good physical health. For the new generation, the mental health of urban-to-urban IMs (βad = 0.201, 95%CI: 0.009, 0.410) for the K6, βad = 0.241, 95% CI: 0.073, 0.409 for the PSS-4), IMs with a longer migration duration (βad = 0.002, 95% CI: (0.000, 0.003) for the PSS-4) and IMs with a higher annual income (βad = 0.124, 95% CI: (0.029, 0.218) for the K6) was significantly poorer than their counterparts. Conclusions: New-generation migrants’ mental health is worse compared to older IMs. An array of services for addressing these generation-specific needs may facilitate the promotion of mental health among IMs in China.

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Social Integration of Rural-Urban Migrants in China

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

The impacts of city-specific factors on social integration of Chinese migrant workers: A study using multilevel modeling

The impacts of city-specific factors on social integration of Chinese migrant workers: A study using multilevel modeling

How do city-specific factors affect migrant integration in China? A study based on a hierarchical linear model of migrants and cities

The Disparity in Mental Health Between Two Generations of Internal Migrants (IMs) in China: Evidence from A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

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