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Effects of Intergroup Contact on Attitudes of Chinese Urban Residents to Migrant Workers

Author

Listed:
  • Ingrid Nielsen

    (Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Nielsen@BusEco.monash.edu.au)

  • Chris Nyland

    (Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Chris.Nyland@BusEco.monash.edu.au)

  • Russell Smyth

    (Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, 900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield East, Victoria 3145, Australia, Smyth@BusEco.monash.edu.au)

  • Mingqiong Zhang

    (Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Mingqiong.Zhang@BusEco.monash.edu.au)

  • Cherrie Jiuhua Zhu

    (Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Cherrie.Zhu@BusEco.monash.edu.au)

Abstract

One consequence of China's marketisation has been the emergence of a 'floating population'-rural Chinese who migrate to China's cities to work. Many urbanites have negative attitudes towards such migrants. To understand how these negative attitudes might be ameliorated, the paper employs Allport's influential contact hypothesis to investigate whether urbanite-migrant friendships affect attitudes. More negative attitudes were observed among males and older urbanites. There was no effect of simply knowing a migrant, supporting Allport's thesis that non-intimate contact is not sufficient to affect attitudes. Friendship alone did not influence attitudes, but interaction effects were detected between having migrant friends and each of age, income and education. Negative attitudes were reduced among urbanites in older, higher-income and higher-education groups if they had a migrant friend.

Suggested Citation

  • Ingrid Nielsen & Chris Nyland & Russell Smyth & Mingqiong Zhang & Cherrie Jiuhua Zhu, 2006. "Effects of Intergroup Contact on Attitudes of Chinese Urban Residents to Migrant Workers," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(3), pages 475-490, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:43:y:2006:i:3:p:475-490
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980500533331
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jun Gu & Annika Mueller & Ingrid Nielsen & Jason Shachat & Russell Smyth, 2015. "An experimental study of contact effects and their persistence on Malawian shopkeepers’ willingness to spend future time with their Chinese counterparts," Monash Economics Working Papers 04-15, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    2. Kato, Takao & Shu, Pian, 2008. "Performance Spillovers and Social Network in the Workplace: Evidence from Rural and Urban Weavers in a Chinese Textile Firm," IZA Discussion Papers 3340, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Jun Gu & Ingrid Nielsen & Jason Shachat & Russell Smyth & Yujia Peng, 2016. "An experimental study of the effect of intergroup contact on attitudes in urban China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(14), pages 2991-3006, November.
    4. R Todd Jewell & Natalia Melgar & David J. Molina & Máximo Rossi, 2009. "Attitudes toward immigrants: a cross-country perspective," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0309, Department of Economics - dECON.
    5. An Huang & Paulo Santos & Russell Smyth, 2023. "Paddy and Prejudice: Evidence on the Agricultural Origins of Prejudice from China and 12 other Asian Societies," Monash Economics Working Papers 2023-02, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    6. Zhongshan Yue & Shuzhuo Li & Xiaoyi Jin & Marcus W. Feldman, 2013. "The Role of Social Networks in the Integration of Chinese Rural–Urban Migrants: A Migrant–Resident Tie Perspective," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(9), pages 1704-1723, July.
    7. Md. Mohsin Reza & Thirunaukarasu Subramaniam & M. Rezaul Islam, 2019. "Economic and Social Well-Being of Asian Labour Migrants: A Literature Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 1245-1264, February.
    8. Gu, Jun & Mueller, Annika & Nielsen, Ingrid & Shachat, Jason & Smyth, Russell, 2015. "Reducing prejudice through actual and imagined contact: A field experiment with Malawian shopkeepers and Chinese immigrants," Working Papers on East Asian Studies 105/2015, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute of East Asian Studies IN-EAST.
    9. Gao, Wenshu & Smyth, Russell, 2011. "Economic returns to speaking 'standard Mandarin' among migrants in China's urban labour market," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 342-352, April.
    10. Kato, Takao & Shu, Pian, 2016. "Competition and social identity in the workplace: Evidence from a Chinese textile firm," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 131(PA), pages 37-50.
    11. Dong, Xiao-Yuan & Jones, Derek C. & Kato, Takao, 2007. "Earnings-Tenure Profiles: Tests of Agency and Human Capital Theories Using Individual Performance Data," IZA Discussion Papers 3122, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Ming-Zhu Wang & Marco Amati & Frank Thomalla, 2012. "Understanding the vulnerability of migrants in Shanghai to typhoons," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 60(3), pages 1189-1210, February.
    13. Sen Xue, 2018. "Does contact improve attitudes towards migrants in China? : Evidence from urban residents," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(2), pages 149-200, April.
    14. Ingrid Nielsen & Sen Sendjaya, 2014. "Wellbeing Among Indonesian Labour Migrants to Malaysia: Implications of the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 919-938, July.
    15. Cheng, Zhiming & Smyth, Russell, 2021. "Education and migrant entrepreneurship in urban China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 506-529.
    16. Kato, Takao & Shu, Pian, 2011. "Competition, Group Identity, and Social Networks in the Workplace: Evidence from a Chinese Textile Firm," IZA Discussion Papers 6219, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Ingrid Nielsen & Olga Paritski & Russell Smyth, 2012. "A Minority-status Perspective on Intergroup Relations: A Study of an Ethnic Chinese Population in a Small Italian Town," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(2), pages 307-318, February.
    18. Qian, Zhu, 2019. "Displaced villagers’ adaptation in concentrated resettlement community: A case study of Nanjing, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

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