Where Are Migrants from? Inter- vs. Intra-Provincial Rural-Urban Migration in China

Yaqin Su, Petros Tesfazion and Zhong Zhao
Additional contact information
Yaqin Su: Hunan University
Petros Tesfazion: Central College

No 11029, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using a representative sample of rural migrants in cities, this paper investigates where the migrants in urban China come from, paying close attention to intra-provincial vs. inter-provincial migrants, and examining the differences in their personal attributes. We find that migrants who have come within the province differ significantly from those who have come from outside of the province. Using a nested logit model, we find that overall, higher wage differentials, larger population size, higher GDP per capita, and faster employment growth rate are the attributes of a city that attract migrants from both within and outside province. In addition, moving beyond one's home province has a strong deterrent effect on migration, analogous to the "border effect" identified in international migration studies. We also explore the role of culture, institutional barrier, and dialect in explaining such a pronounced "border effect".

Keywords: rural-urban migration; inter- vs. intra-provincial migration; border effect; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J62 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2017-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-cse, nep-cta, nep-lab, nep-mig, nep-tra and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published in: China Economic Review , 2018, 47, 142-155

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Related works:
Journal Article: Where are the migrants from? Inter- vs. intra-provincial rural-urban migration in China (2018)
Working Paper: Where Are Migrants From? Inter- vs. Intra-Provincial Rural-Urban Migration in China (2018)
Working Paper: Where Are Migrants from? Inter- vs. Intra-Provincial Rural-Urban Migration in China (2017)
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