The demography of the great migration in China

Rufei Guo, Junsen Zhang and Minghai Zhou ()

Journal of Development Economics, 2024, vol. 167, issue C

Abstract: Fertility differentials across countries drive global migration. Despite a vibrant research agenda on the demographic forces behind international migration, little empirical research probes into the demography of internal migration. We analyze the demography of China’s internal migration from 1996–2010. Specifically, we construct bilateral migration flows across Chinese prefectures and exploit large variations in cohort sizes induced by historical events. We find asymmetric impacts of “push” and “pull” demographic factors in determining internal migration. We also explore economic mechanisms behind demographic forces, such as the moderating effects of physical distance and social network, the substitution pattern by education, and a thick-market effect for marriage migration.

Keywords: Internal migration; Differential fertility; Cohort size; Demographic force (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J11 J61 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:167:y:2024:i:c:s0304387823001918

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103235

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