The political economy of migration in China.

Abstract

Since opening up its economy to international trade and investment in the 1970s, China has undergone the largest transfer of rural populations to urban eras in modern history. In order to achieve these growth levels, massive migration was necessary in order to provide the armies of cheap labor that has been China's comparative economic advantage and the very core of its economic development strategy. This thesis examines the history of, and tensions within, China migration policy, and its implication for China's long-term position in the global economy. This thesis argues that China's migration policy is attempting to reconcile two conflicting goals of the ruling elite. On the one hand, migration flows are necessary to fulfill China's export-oriented industrial strategy, which requires vast amounts of cheap labor. On the other hand, the freedom of movement which migration requires poses a potential threat to social and political instability, especially if it sets the stage for independent civic mobilizations over the longer term. Maintaining the Hukou registration system as a form of residual control also encourages the existence of a large underclass of low wage workers who possess minimal rights in the areas to which they have migrated. The resulting income inequalities are themselves a source of social discontent that may well threaten the legitimacy of Communist governance.--Abstract.