Policy coordination in the talent war to achieve economic upgrading: the case of four Chinese cities

This paper captures the on-going “talent war” between Chinese cities by studying how municipal governments have coordinated migration settlement policies and subsidized rental housing policies to restructure the labour force for economic upgrading. Policies in four cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing are coded and reviewed in detail to show the hierarchical and intersectoral policy coordination. The hierarchical analyses explain the responsibilities of the governments at each level. The cross-sectoral analyses reveal how domestic migration and housing policies are tightly knit together to support the local economic upgrading. The case studies of four cities show that the local policies are structurally aligned with the central guidelines, and the local governments adjust the thresholds for key indicators in the policies to attract or exclude migrants to reflect the local economic agenda and population control targets. This research showcases how the local governments in China try to balance between central mandates and local interests. The paradigm shift from pro-GDP growth to economic upgrading has clearly affected the local governments’ attitudes towards migrants. City authorities introduce selective migration strategies in response to the pressure to control population growth.