Public Service Inclusivity and Economic Empowerment of Migrants: Evidence From Chinese Cities

Abstract

Urbanisation has concentrated over half of the global population in cities. However, rural–urban migrants in developing countries often face less inclusive urban institutions, limiting their access to essential public services. This study focuses on China's recent reforms aimed at achieving equal access for migrants to childcare, education, employment, healthcare, elderly care and housing—an institutional strategy designed to enhance urban inclusivity. We develop a multidimensional composite index, employing ratio and entropy-weight methods, to measure the degree of public service equalisation between migrants and local residents at the urban district level. Our findings indicate that greater service equalisation significantly improves migrants' economic outcomes. Mechanism analysis reveals that this effect arises through the promotion of human capital development, facilitation of integration into local social networks and provision of psychological incentives for urban assimilation. These results highlight the pivotal role of reducing disparities in urban public services in unlocking migrants' economic potential and promoting inclusive, sustainable urban growth in developing countries.