IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v179y2022ics0040162522001792.html

To inhibit or to promote: How does the digital economy affect urban migrant integration in China?

Author

Listed:
  • Zou, Jing
  • Deng, Xiaojun

Abstract

Urban migrant integration into the city fabric is a crucial aspect for social harmony and stability. With the development of digital economy, its role and underlying mechanism in urban migrant integration have not receive enough attention. According to the China Migrants Dynamic Survey, urban migrant integration consists of economic integration, sociocultural integration and psychological integration. Among these, economic integration is the least common, sociocultural integration is at the middle level, and psychological integration level is the most common. Further research shows that the digital economy significantly and negatively affects urban migrant integration. Regarding its subdimensions, the digital economy promotes migrant economic integration. However, it hinders migrant sociocultural integration and psychological integration. Further analysis of the underlying mechanisms reveal that the digital economy can promote migrants’ personal income and household income to improve their economic integration, while it can also reduce the probability of migrants’ interaction with local residents and weaken the development of a sense of local identity, which hinders their sociocultural and psychological integration. Heterogeneity analysis notes that the digital economy is more conducive to the economic integration of female and new generation migrants, while it hinders their psychological integration and greatly prohibits old generation migrants’ sociocultural integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Zou, Jing & Deng, Xiaojun, 2022. "To inhibit or to promote: How does the digital economy affect urban migrant integration in China?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:179:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522001792
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121647
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162522001792
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121647?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang Zhen & Zahid Yousaf & Magdalena Radulescu & Muhammad Yasir, 2021. "Nexus of Digital Organizational Culture, Capabilities, Organizational Readiness, and Innovation: Investigation of SMEs Operating in the Digital Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. David Autor & David Dorn, 2009. "This Job Is "Getting Old": Measuring Changes in Job Opportunities Using Occupational Age Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 45-51, May.
    3. Jong-Hee Kim, 2016. "A Study on the Effect of Financial Inclusion on the Relationship Between Income Inequality and Economic Growth," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(2), pages 498-512, February.
    4. Agrawal, Ajay & Gans, Joshua S. & Goldfarb, Avi, 2019. "Exploring the impact of artificial Intelligence: Prediction versus judgment," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-6.
    5. Nathan Nunn & Nancy Qian, 2014. "US Food Aid and Civil Conflict," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(6), pages 1630-1666, June.
    6. Zhen Liu & Jing Liu & Mohamed Osmani, 2021. "Integration of Digital Economy and Circular Economy: Current Status and Future Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-27, June.
    7. Knight, John & Deng, Quheng & Li, Shi, 2011. "The puzzle of migrant labour shortage and rural labour surplus in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 585-600.
    8. Natalia Letki, 2008. "Does Diversity Erode Social Cohesion? Social Capital and Race in British Neighbourhoods," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56, pages 99-126, March.
    9. Zhilin Liu, 2019. "Supporting or dragging? effects of neighbourhood social ties on social integration of rural-to-urban migrants in China," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(9), pages 1404-1421, October.
    10. Xiao, Wei & Zhao, Guochang, 2018. "Agricultural Land and Rural-Urban Migration in China: A New Pattern," RIEI Working Papers 2018-09, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Research Institute for Economic Integration.
    11. Amjad Naveed & Cong Wang, 2021. "Can Attitudes Toward Immigrant Explain Social Integration in Europe? EU versus Non-EU Migrant," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 345-383, January.
    12. Agrawal, Ajay & Gans, Joshua & Goldfarb, Avi (ed.), 2019. "The Economics of Artificial Intelligence," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226613338, December.
    13. Afridi, Farzana & Li, Sherry Xin & Ren, Yufei, 2015. "Social identity and inequality: The impact of China's hukou system," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 17-29.
    14. Hainmueller, Jens & Hangartner, Dominik & Pietrantuono, Giuseppe, 2017. "Catalyst or Crown: Does Naturalization Promote the Long-Term Social Integration of Immigrants?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 111(2), pages 256-276, May.
    15. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    16. Natalia Letki, 2008. "Does Diversity Erode Social Cohesion? Social Capital and Race in British Neighbourhoods," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56(1), pages 99-126, March.
    17. John Giles & Ren Mu, 2018. "Village Political Economy, Land Tenure Insecurity, and the Rural to Urban Migration Decision: Evidence from China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(2), pages 521-544.
    18. Sergei Shubin & Heather Dickey, 2013. "Integration and Mobility of Eastern European Migrants in Scotland," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(12), pages 2959-2979, December.
    19. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(6), pages 2188-2244.
    20. Levine, Ross, 2005. "Finance and Growth: Theory and Evidence," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 865-934, Elsevier.
    21. Nicole Schneeweis, 2011. "Educational institutions and the integration of migrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1281-1308, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zou, Jing & Deng, Xiaojun, 2022. "Housing tenure choice and socio-economic integration of migrants in rising cities of China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Jing Zou & Xiaojun Deng, 2022. "Spatial Differentiation and Driving Forces of Migrants’ Socio-Economic Integration in Urban China: Evidence from CMDS," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 1035-1056, February.
    3. Zou, Jing & Chen, Jie & Chen, Yu, 2022. "Hometown landholdings and rural migrants’ integration intention: The case of urban China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    4. Ozgun, Burcu & Broekel, Tom, 2021. "The geography of innovation and technology news - An empirical study of the German news media," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Elena Fumagalli & Laura Fumagalli, 2009. "Like Oil and Water or Chocolate and Peanut Butter? Ethnic Diversity and Social Participation of Young People in England," Working Papers 2009.94, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    6. Anderton, Robert & Jarvis, Valerie & Labhard, Vincent & Morgan, Julian & Petroulakis, Filippos & Vivian, Lara, 2020. "Virtually everywhere? Digitalisation and the euro area and EU economies," Occasional Paper Series 244, European Central Bank.
    7. Karl McShane, 2017. "Getting Used to Diversity? Immigration and Trust in Sweden," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(3), pages 1895-1910.
    8. Daniele Angelini, 2023. "Aging Population and Technology Adoption," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2023-01, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    9. Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2025. "Artificial intelligence and labor markets: evidence from google trends," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 49(4), pages 1078-1093, December.
    10. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Fernández, Gastón P. & Rammer, Christian, 2023. "Artificial intelligence and firm-level productivity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 188-205.
    11. Anne Marie Jeannet, 2017. "The Rational Public? Internal Migration and Collective Opinion about the European Union," Working Papers 103, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    12. Liu, Bofan & Guo, Ruifei & Shi, Huaqin, 2025. "Digital government and corporate investment: Effects and mechanisms," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. de Moraes, Claudio Oliveira & Cruz, Guilherme, 2023. "What do we know about the relationship between banks and income inequality? Empirical evidence for emerging and low-income countries," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    14. Chau-kiu Cheung & Stephen Ma, 2011. "Coupling Social Solidarity and Social Harmony in Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 145-167, August.
    15. Langlotz, Sarah & Potrafke, Niklas, 2019. "Does development aid increase military expenditure?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 735-757.
    16. Peter Dirksmeier, 2025. "A sense of belonging to the neighbourhood in places beyond the metropolis – the role of social infrastructure," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    17. Heyman, Fredrik & Olsson, Martin, 2022. "Long-Run Effects of Technological Change: The Impact of Automation and on Intergenerational Mobility," Working Paper Series 1451, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 12 Dec 2025.
    18. Gereke, Johanna & Schaub, Max & Baldassarri, Delia, 2018. "Ethnic diversity, poverty and social trust in Germany: Evidence from a behavioral measure of trust," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15.
    19. John Bwalya & Cecil Seethal, 2016. "Neighbourhood context and social cohesion in Southernwood, East London, South Africa," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(1), pages 40-56, January.
    20. Williams, Jonathan, 2012. "Efficiency and market power in Latin American banking," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 263-276.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:179:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522001792. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.