Return Migration and Economic Outcomes in Rural China

IF 1.3 Q3 DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Zai Liang, Meng-Tse Cheng
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Most previous studies of return migration have defined return migration as a return to the place of birth (or village of origin). In this paper, we reconceptualize return migrants as consisting of two groups: those returning to their place of birth (“local returnees”) and those returning to a nearby town, county, or city (“regional returnees”). Using a nationally representative sample from the 2014 China Labor Dynamics Survey, we carry out a systematic comparison and analysis of these two groups of return migrants, along with migrants at their destination and non-migrants at their origin. Our results challenge previous views of the negative socioeconomic selectivity of return migration. Both local returnees and regional returnees play an important role in non-farm economic activities. More importantly, we find that regional returnees have more favorable outcomes than local returnees in terms of income and economic activities. As China makes significant progress in upgrading its transportation infrastructure, and with the growing availability of digital technology for businesses, the proportion of regional returnees should grow over time. We argue that this new form of return migration represents a promising pattern of development and urbanization in China and deserves more attention from scholars and policymakers.
中国农村回流与经济产出
以往大多数关于回迁的研究都将回迁定义为返回出生地(或原籍村庄)。在本文中,我们将返乡农民工重新定义为由两类人组成:返回出生地的人(“本地返乡者”)和返回附近城镇、县或城市的人(“地区返乡者”)。利用2014年中国劳动力动态调查中具有全国代表性的样本,我们对这两组返乡农民工以及目的地的农民工和来源地的非农民工进行了系统的比较和分析。我们的研究结果挑战了之前关于回归移民的负面社会经济选择性的观点。地方回返者和区域回返者在非农业经济活动中都发挥着重要作用。更重要的是,我们发现区域海归在收入和经济活动方面比本地海归有更有利的结果。随着中国在交通基础设施升级方面取得重大进展,以及企业越来越多地使用数字技术,地区海归的比例应该会随着时间的推移而增长。我们认为,这种新形式的回迁代表了中国发展和城市化的一种有希望的模式,值得学者和政策制定者更多的关注。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Sociology of Development
Sociology of Development Social Sciences-Development
CiteScore
1.90
自引率
8.30%
发文量
14
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