The impact of urban innovation on migrant settlement: Evidence from China

Abstract

Urban innovation attracts migrants for higher incomes, yet high housing prices in innovative cities may hinder their settlement. Using a new economic geography model and logistic regression with data from China Migrants Dynamic Survey and China Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship Index, this study examines urban innovation’s effects on migrant settlement in urbanizing regions and shows that the anticipated benefits of innovation-driven development outweigh the negative impact of housing prices on migrant settlement. Furthermore, city size serves as a crucial moderator, with extra-large cities being more attractive to migrants. Based on the migrants’ trade-off between the benefits driven by innovation and living costs, the study finds that urban innovation increases migrant retention through better expectations for development, offering new perspectives for policy analysis contributing to sustainable urban development.