Human capital agglomeration,institutional barriers,and internal migration in China

This paper investigates how human capital agglomeration interplays with institutional factors to affect migration destination choice in China. Over the last decades, China has experienced massive internal migration, substantial human capital investment, and the relaxation of its hukou system, thus providing us with a valuable opportunity to examine the role of human capital externality in migration choice. Based on rich data on province-to-province migration flows for different education and hukou groups, we find that migrants in China, especially highly educated and urban-to-urban migrants, have a strong preference to move to provinces with a high agglomeration of human capital. Further examination reveals that low-skilled migrants in China are less likely to benefit from human capital agglomeration because of their lower ability to overcome hukou restrictions. Our findings raise the concern that labor migration under the skill-biased hukou system would enlarge China's regional disparities in human capital and economic development.     

Spatiality,belonging and citizenship in the age of migration in contemporary China

While internal migration in contemporary China ascribes a great change to urban China's demographic composition, social structures and economic development trajectories, it is yet to restructure the formal definitions of urban identity and belonging, which are still dominated by the household registration system (hukou). The paper suggests that as a result of changes in the political, economic, demographic and social contexts within which China's internal migration develops, there emerge a crucial need to re‐examine the crude forms of determining identity and belonging, questioning the addressing of spatiality within the existing mechanisms (such as hukou system or the shiminhua discourse). To do so, the paper argues that the existing de‐territorialisation of the migration experience has to be replaced with a more nuanced understanding of how spatial practices and conceptualisations shape migrants’ experiences, as it is becoming imperative to develop a new framework that is more sensitive to migrants’ lived process of identification and belonging, especially as these traverse multiple geographies and spatial scales. This close engagement with migrants’ spatiality can then be used as a base from which to engage with a more complex view of migrants’ spatial and social relatedness, as well as the development of their urban belonging and identity.     

Independent and linked migrants: determinants of African American interstate migration

Through kinship and other links to destinations, many African American interstate migrants in the United States join other people in destination households. These “linked” migrants contrast to “independent migrants” who move as individuals or intact groups and set up their own households at the destination. Using U.S. Census Public Use Micro Sample data, this paper first shows that, in the 1985-90 period, about 45 percent of all Black interstate migrants were independent, compared to 38 percent who were linked to housing at the destination and 17 percent who moved into group quarters. Second, a multinomial logit model, incorporating individual and state-level variables, is specified that contrasts the determinants of independent and linked migration. Tests show that independent migration can be modeled with classic migration determinants, including individual educational and occupational resources, labor market conditions at the destination, and public goods at the destination including the level of welfare payments. Linked migration, on the other hand, is much less responsive to these factors, and not at all responsive to destination unemployment and welfare levels. Separate tests of male and female models suggest a great contrast between independent and linked migration for females. It is concluded that the understanding of Black migration must take into account a variety of factors beyond traditional labor market conditions, including links to the destination and individual housing circumstances.     

The impact of equalisation of basic public health and medical services on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants in China

Using China Migrants Dynamic Survey Project data from 2012 to 2018, this paper evaluates the causal impact of equalisation of basic public health and medical services on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants by the difference-in-differences approach. The results reveal that the equalisation of basic public health and medical services has a negative impact on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants of 4%. Male, middle-aged, and unmarried internal migrants have a much stronger negative response, in terms of long-term urban settlement intentions, to changes in basic public health and medical services. Moreover, more recent internal migrants, those in first-tier cities and those in cities in eastern regions also have a much stronger negative response. Mechanism checks imply that the negative impact on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants is caused by social integration decline after implementation of equalisation of basic public health and medical services.     

The Impact of Migration on Social Capital: Do Migrants Take Their Bowling Balls with Them?

Questions surrounding the impact of population migration on social capital is the focus of this study. Putnam observed that “for people as for plants, frequent repotting disrupts root systems. It takes time for a mobile individual to put down new roots.” However, because of a trending decrease in mobility over time, Putnam rules out migration as an explanation for the long‐term decline in social capital that was the subject of his widely read 1995 book Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital. This study undertakes an empirical examination of the impact of migration on county‐level social capital, which in tribute to Putnam one might view as an attempt to answer the question—do migrants take their bowling balls with them when they move? The potential for county‐level migration of population to impact social capital levels at particular locations in space arises from the conventional argument that social capital promotes trust and cooperation among agents. This trust increases socially efficient collective action but requires investment in relationships and commitment of scarce resources to build social capital. It seems plausible that migration of population might have a negative impact on the stock of social capital by interfering with trust and cooperation among agents. However, it is also possible that migrants may take their social capital with them to new places of residence. In other words, the propensity to join social and civic organizations might reflect inherent traits of individuals who are willing to make commitments of their resources to building social capital in any community where they reside.     

Do rural migrants benefit from labor market agglomeration economies? Evidence from Chinese cities

We combine the 2005 China Inter-Census Population Survey data and the 2004 China Manufacturing Census to test whether workers, particularly rural migrants, benefit from labor market Marshallian externalities. We find that workers in general, and rural migrants in particular, benefit from labor market pooling effects (measured by total employment in a city-industry cell) and human capital externalities (measured by share of workers with a college degree or above in a city-industry cell). These findings are robust to various sorting bias tests. However, rural migrants benefit much less than do local or urban workers, possibly because rural migrants lack social networks and are discriminated doubly in terms of being both “rural” and “migrants.” Our findings have policy implications on how Chinese cities can become skilled during the rapid urbanization process coupled with global competition.     

Determinants of the Travel Behavior of the Suburban Elderly

In recent years, a significant feature of population change in North American metropolitan areas has been the rapid suburbanization of elderly people. The ability to engage in routine activity may be a necessary condition for the maintenance of independent life styles and psychological well‐being among older suburbanites. Using a conceptual framework based on Parmelee and Lawton's ecological model of aging, this article offers an exploratory investigation of the determinants of the travel of separate samples of elderly male and female suburbanites to each of five destination categories of key service/activity sites in a Canadian city. The results of the tests of ten multiple regression models disclose that the levels of explanation of trip frequency afforded by “autonomy components” (e.g. health‐related characteristics, living arrangements, and income level) vary according to destination category. However, the explanatory power of “security components” (i.e. variables concerning access to destination categories) is generally low. Overall, the findings of the study provide a basis for developing a deeper understanding of the repetitive travel behavior of elderly suburbanites.     

City economic development,housing availability,and migrants' settlement intentions: Evidence from China

The slow growth of the permanently settled migrants in host cities poses new challenges for the sustainability of China's future urbanization. Given the growing importance of homeownership, this paper clarifies migrants' settlement intentions into three mutually exclusive patterns, including de facto permanent settlement intention through homeownership, long-term temporary settlement intention and short-term temporary settlement intention. Based on matched micro- and macro-level data, this paper examines the influence of city economic development and housing prices on these three patterns. The results suggest that economic development exhibits an attractive effect on migrants' settlement intentions for both earning money and for making a life while housing price weakens rural migrants' de facto permanent settlement intention. We also highlight the effect of the Housing Provident Fund (HPF), the most important housing financial policy in China, on settlement intention, and the results suggest that the HPF serves as an option to help migrants achieve permanent settlement through housing availability. The findings can explain the mixed results of previous research and provide policy references for sustainable urbanization in China.     

A quantitative analysis of Hukou reform in Chinese cities: 2000–2016

This paper documents the changes in China's Hukou reform before and after 2014 based on a unique data set of Hukou policy documents from Chinese cities between 2000 and 2016. We construct a Hukou registration index to measure the stringency of local Hukou qualification in Chinese cities. There are four main channels for migrants to get local urban Hukou: investment, home purchase, talent program, and employment. The requirements of the four channels have large variations across different tiers of cities between the two periods of 2000–2013 and 2014–2016. First‐tier and some second‐tier cities set high criteria for local Hukou registration that have become more stringent over time, while other cities have much lower requirements. The point account system for Hukou registration shows that cities have different preferences over workers eligible for local urban Hukou. The quantitative measures developed in this paper can be used to study a variety of topics on the social and economic consequences of labor mobility barriers.     

Slow,small and shared voluntary relocations: Learning from the experience of migrants living on the urban fringes of Khulna,Bangladesh

The paper conceptualises the process of voluntary relocation undertaken by rural farmers to informal settlements in coastal cities. These are journeys that occur without formal institutional support, utilising migrants' own agency. Learning from these community‐driven relocations has merit in rethinking climate change adaptation at the regional level. In this paper we present stories of 17 families who have progressively relocated to the fringes of Khulna city in southwestern Bangladesh. We observe three key attributes: first, relocations are slow, neither singular nor immediately completed, but rather take months of careful back and forth journeys of family members between their places of origin and destination. Second, relocations rely on small networks of relatives and acquaintances at the destination. Third, relocations are built on shared responsibilities distributed among a range of actors in places of origin and destination. We conclude that these slow, small and shared relocations are likely to be realised as forms of ongoing adaptation by rural farmers if their aspirational mobilities, social relations and supports are maintained at a regional scale. This kind of migration as adaptation may bring about just outcomes for those displaced without necessarily promoting rigid planning interventions that tend to fix resettlement solutions in place and time.     

The working and living space of the ‘floating population’ in China

A large floating population is moving around in China. This is a challenging demographic, social and economic issue for the country. But the knowledge about this particular population group remains incomplete and fragmentary. This paper uses a recent set of statistical data covering a registered temporary population of 37 million to assess the status of the floating population in China. It is found that the majority of the registered floating population is employed or self–employed in one way or another. But the housing conditions of the rural migrants are generally poor. Institutional and market forces are playing an important role in shaping the working and living space of China.     

How does tolerance affect urban innovative capacities in China?

This study investigated how urban cultural and economic tolerance affects urban innovative capacities based on China's prefecture‐level cities. Several tolerance indices, including ratios of migrants, rental housing, gay people, and private economies were introduced and the cities’ tolerance scores were measured using factor analysis. The results show that cities with higher cultural and economical tolerant scores were agglomerated in three metropolitan areas in China's southeastern coastal region. The spatial regression model demonstrates that urban cultural and economic tolerance increases urban innovation output and promotes innovation capacities. We also introduced the crime rate as an instrumental variable and found that the effect of tolerance on innovation remains robust. Our study suggests it is important for the Chinese government to establish an open and tolerant environment to attract migrants, creative artists, and entrepreneurs to foster urban vitality and improve urban innovative capacities.     

Estimation of eco-efficiency and identification of its influencing factors in China's Yangtze River Delta urban agglomerations

Eco-efficiency is an important indicator which serves as a helpful instrument for the studies of sustainable development. This paper estimated the eco-efficiency of 26 cities in China's Yangtze River Delta urban agglomerations. Based on different matrixes, Moran's I was applied to analyze the spatial correlation. The spatial Durbin model was applied to analyze the direct and indirect effect of influencing factors. Some conclusions were drawn. (a) The average eco-efficiency showed an increasing trend. The regional difference of eco-efficiency decreased and then increased. Shanghai's eco-efficiency had been the highest. (b) The eco-efficiency showed positive spatial autocorrelation and it also exhibited significant characteristic of local spatial autocorrelation. (c) Economic development, fixed assets investment, and technological level of one city had a significant positive impact on the eco-efficiency of the city itself. Industrial structure, fiscal decentralization, and foreign direct investment of a city had a significant negative impact on the eco-efficiency of the city itself. Changes in the economic development and technological levels in a city had positive impacts on the eco-efficiency of its neighboring cities. Foreign direct investment had a negative spatial spillover effect. (d) This paper suggested that it is necessary to pay attention to the interaction of influencing factors among cities.     

The Shifting Destinations of Metropolitan Migrants in the U.S., 2005–2011

Recent estimates that central cities are growing faster than their suburbs in the U.S. have captured the attention of both academics and the popular media. Many commentators have used these numbers to claim that internal migration trends in the U.S. have reached a turning point, in which migrants increasingly prefer urban residences to suburban locales. However, these assertions often rely on problematic definitions of city and suburb, and pay too little attention to demographic variations among migrants. This paper examines whether recent internal migrants in the U.S. are choosing closer‐in destinations, drawing from microdata samples from the American Community Survey since 2005. During this period, there is an overall trend of migrants to the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. choosing to migrate closer to the metropolitan core. However, this trend varies significantly among major demographic groups; whereas younger, single, educated, and white‐collar migrants show evidence of a return to the core, migrants who are blue‐collar, less‐educated, older, and with families remain more suburban. In turn, this analysis suggests that overall trends of “back to the city” migration are producing considerable divergence in the metropolitan destinations of different demographic groups.     

The Persistence of Urban Deprivation: The Example of Wichita,Kansas, in the 1970s

Abstract During the 1970s, several programs were implemented to deal with the problem of urban deprivation within US central cities. This study examines the changing spatial distribution of various deprivation indicators within the city of Wichita, Kansas, and identifies the social and economic characteristics of those areas most affected by changes. Linear regression is utilized to develop a typology of change. Areas that deteriorated in relation to the rest of the city are characterized by disproportionate concentrations of the city's “underclass,” while areas that improved in relation to the rest of the city were the most affluent neighborhoods. The study found little evidence that deprivation was reduced in those areas of the inner city targeted for special assistance; indeed, in much of the inner city, levels of deprivation increased relative to the rest of the city.     

Analyzing the spatial allocation of Japan’s aid to China: A perspective from the relations between aid allocation stakeholders

While the spatial distribution of foreign aid has aroused a widespread academic interest, the existing research is limited mainly to the transnational level and lacks an analysis of aid allocation within a single recipient country. Moreover, more attention is paid to the factors influencing the aid allocation than to the interactions among different aid allocation stakeholders. To fill the research blank, this paper proposes a “three-party relationship model” to analyze the spatial allocation of aid within a recipient county, and uses the case of Japan's aid to China to validate the model. We find most of the aid has been allocated to the economic infrastructure, over time, and the key aid sector has shifted from economic infrastructure to social infrastructure and general environmental protection; The allocation characteristics of total aid and key aid sectors are various; The spatial allocation pattern of aid reflects an interaction between the donor (Japan) and the recipient country (China). The degree of importance of each aid allocation stakeholder is different at different stages of the total life cycle of aid, and the aid allocation stakeholder relationship in the three-party relationship model may be constantly reshaped during the allocation processes of aid in space.     

Internal Migration in Mexico: Consolidation of Urban–Urban Mobility, 2000–2015

Internal migration has been recognized as the major influence in terms of population redistribution across urban systems, but it is not a homogeneous phenomenon. Within the context of internal rural‐urban migration decline and the negative changes in migratory balances in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, the core of enquiry in this paper is the approach to growth and consolidation of an internal urban–urban migration system in the early twenty‐first century (2000–2015). This process has taken place through two main networks, among metropolitan areas not corresponding to the principal city and among intermediate cities. Internal migration is a complex process that involves both individual and spatial characteristics and which leads to spatially uneven development in the long term. Data from three censuses of the population of Mexico (2000, 2010, and 2015) show a transition to a more urban–urban migration pattern, with skilled migrants tending to have metropolitan and urban destinations, whereas less‐skilled migrants prefer rural and small urban destinations.     

Returning and New Montana Migrants: Socio‐economic and Motivational Differences

This paper examines return migrants and new migrants to Montana: Who are they? Why do they move? Do return migrants move for different reasons than new migrants? Data from the 1994–1997 Montana Poll, a representative survey of Montana households, are used. A comparison of socio‐economic differences of return and new migrants shows that the two migrant types are very similar in terms of education, income, and age. This stands in contrast to the findings of others who maintain that return migrants are negatively selected with respect to education. Logistic regressions were employed to identify the effect of age and place ties on reasons for moving. Return migrants and new migrants move to Montana for very similar reasons, with family being the most important primary reason for moving. Moving for lifestyle reasons, such as environmental quality and urban amenities, were found to systematically change with age. This could explain why people return to a place they left earlier in life. While other research on return migration compared return migrants and other migrants who left the same place of origin, this paper offers a comparison of return migrants and other migrants who seek out the same destination. Results from the Montana Poll suggest that the same destination attracts return migrants and new migrants with similar socio‐economic characteristics who move there for very similar reasons.