IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i16p9442-d619898.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Two-Way Floating or Irreversible Floating? The Transition of Migrants from Urban Social Integration to Permanent Settlement in the Cities in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoyun Li

    (College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China)

  • Hongsheng Chen

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China)

Abstract

Oversized population mobility is an important feature of China’s urbanization. Every year, a large number of rural migrants move between urban and rural areas in China. However, the periodic mobility of rural migrants between urban and rural areas and between regions does not mean that migrants stop settling down in cities. In this study, using data from large sample surveys from the 2017 Chinese Migrants Dynamic Survey collected from eight cities in China, we analyse rural migrants’ urban settlement in China. Our findings reveal that 82.02% of rural migrant reported that they will stay in the city in the future and that residence duration dependence exists in the social integration and urban settlement of China’ rural migrants. That is, the longer rural migrants live in cities, the higher level of social integration and the more likely they are to settle in the city. Among the socio-economic factors, the influence of education on the social integration of rural migrants is greater than that of income. Social integration has a significant mediating effect on the floating duration and urban settlement intention, as well as education level and urban settlement intention. Further, the ownership of contracted land and homestead in rural areas (place of origin) are also important factors affecting the settlement of migrants in cities. For rural migrants to settle down in cities, contracted land acts as an economic support, and a homestead is a guarantee for the future. This study put forward that the mainstream of migration flow in China is the rural-urban one-way, irreversible flow from the countryside to the city and further proposes that the social policies should be based on encouraging migrants to improve social integration and increase the possibility of settling in cities. In future research, we should further consider the transformation of China’s urbanization stage. Settling in cities may become the “final choice” for most migrants and their family members. The social policies should help migrants and their family members get a better life and achieve upward social mobility in cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoyun Li & Hongsheng Chen, 2021. "Two-Way Floating or Irreversible Floating? The Transition of Migrants from Urban Social Integration to Permanent Settlement in the Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-13, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9442-:d:619898
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9442/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9442/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rachel Murphy, 1999. "Return migrant entrepreneurs and economic diversification in two counties in south Jiangxi, China," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(4), pages 661-672.
    2. Liu, Yansui, 2018. "Introduction to land use and rural sustainability in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-4.
    3. Wenfei Winnie Wang & C Cindy Fan, 2006. "Success or Failure: Selectivity and Reasons of Return Migration in Sichuan and Anhui, China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(5), pages 939-958, May.
    4. Erik Melander & Magnus Öberg, 2006. "Time to Go? Duration Dependence in Forced Migration," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 129-152, July.
    5. Zhou, Yang & Li, Yamei & Xu, Chenchen, 2020. "Land consolidation and rural revitalization in China: Mechanisms and paths," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    6. Hu, Feng & Xu, Zhaoyuan & Chen, Yuyu, 2011. "Circular migration, or permanent stay? Evidence from China's rural-urban migration," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 64-74, March.
    7. Mingqiong Zhang & Cherrie Jiuhua Zhu & Chris Nyland, 2014. "The Institution of Hukou-based Social Exclusion: A Unique Institution Reshaping the Characteristics of Contemporary Urban China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1437-1457, July.
    8. Zhang, Huafeng, 2017. "Opportunity or new poverty trap: Rural-urban education disparity and internal migration in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 112-124.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qiang Wang & Liying Yu & Yueling Yang, 2022. "From Fragmentation to Intensification: Land Reform in China’s “New Era”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Huiyuan Qiang & Lin Liu & Fengzhi Ma, 2022. "Neglected Part of Education Sustainability: Social Work Intervention on the Quality of Extracurricular Life of Migrant Workers’ Children," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, February.

    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. Zhang, Chuanyong & Song, Yanjiao, 2022. "Road to the city: Impact of land expropriation on farmers’ urban settlement intention in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    2. Weijia Chen & Yongquan Lu & Guilin Liu, 2022. "Balancing cropland gain and desert vegetation loss: The key to rural revitalization in Xinjiang, China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1122-1145, September.
    3. Wang, Bo & Li, Fan & Feng, Shuyi & Shen, Tong, 2020. "Transfer of development rights, farmland preservation, and economic growth: a case study of Chongqing’s land quotas trading program," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Yinxin Su & Mingzhi Hu & Yuzhe Wu, 2023. "Rural Land Transfer and Urban Settlement Intentions of Rural Migrants: Evidence from a Rural Land System Reform in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Cagri Un, 2023. "A Sustainable Approach to the Conversion of Waste into Energy: Landfill Gas-to-Fuel Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Xue Zhou & Yang Zhou, 2021. "Spatio-Temporal Variation and Driving Forces of Land-Use Change from 1980 to 2020 in Loess Plateau of Northern Shaanxi, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    7. Wang, Rongyu & Tan, Rong, 2020. "Patterns of revenue distribution in rural residential land consolidation in contemporary China: The perspective of property rights delineation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Wang, Wenxiong & Lan, Yuanqin & Wang, Xu, 2021. "Impact of livelihood capital endowment on poverty alleviation of households under rural land consolidation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    9. Li, Jing & Lo, Kevin & Zhang, Pingyu & Guo, Meng, 2021. "Reclaiming small to fill large: A novel approach to rural residential land consolidation in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    10. Xiao, Wei & Zhao, Guochang, 2020. "Who is affected: Influence of agricultural land on occupational choices of peasants in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Guo, Beibei & Fang, Yelin & Jin, Xiaobin & zhou, Yinkang, 2020. "Monitoring the effects of land consolidation on the ecological environmental quality based on remote sensing: A case study of Chaohu Lake Basin, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    12. Li, Xueying & Zhang, Lei, 2023. "Educational opportunity and children's migration: Evidence from China's Gaokao reform for children of migrant families," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 1162-1185.
    13. Liu, Shuchang & Xiao, Wu & Ye, Yanmei & He, Tingting & Luo, Heng, 2023. "Rural residential land expansion and its impacts on cultivated land in China between 1990 and 2020," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    14. Fan, Shuaishuai & Jiang, Meihui & Sun, Daoyuan & Zhang, Shunkai, 2023. "Does financial development matter the accomplishment of rural revitalization? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 620-633.
    15. Mingjun Cai & Bin Ouyang & Matthew Quayson, 2024. "Navigating the Nexus between Rural Revitalization and Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Analyses of Current Status, Progress, and Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-26, January.
    16. Li, Fang & Feng, Shuyi & Lu, Hualiang & Qu, Futian & D’Haese, Marijke, 2021. "How do non-farm employment and agricultural mechanization impact on large-scale farming? A spatial panel data analysis from Jiangsu Province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    17. Li, Xunhuan & Wang, Yongsheng & Wang, Zhaosheng, 2024. "Quantifying the industrial development modes and their capability of realizing the ecological value in rural China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    18. Yi Wang & Yingming Zhu & Maojun Yu, 2022. "Measuring the implementation effects of rural revitalization in China’s Jiangsu Province: Under the analytical framework of “deconstruction, assessment and brainstorming”," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1146-1169, September.
    19. Xiangming Leng & Min Zhong & Junling Xu & Shenghua Xie, 2020. "Falling Into the Second-Generation Decline? Evidence From the Intergenerational Differences in Social Identity of Rural–Urban Migrants in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(3), pages 21582440209, July.
    20. Renhao Yang & Qingyuan Yang, 2020. "Restructuring the State: Policy Transition of Construction Land Supply in Urban and Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, December.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9442-:d:619898. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.