In Search of a Better Life: The Occupational Attainment of Rural and Urban Migrants in China

45 Pages Posted: 22 Sep 2010

See all articles by Ayako Kondo

Ayako Kondo

University of Tokyo - Institute of Social Science

Dongshu Ou

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Date Written: September 22, 2010

Abstract

This paper investigates the occupational attainment and job mobility of permanent rural-to-urban migrants and compares them with migrants who were born with an urban hukou. Using data from the 2003 China General Social Survey, we examine how much of the gaps in occupational-prestige scores between rural- and urban-born migrants can be explained by differences in observable characteristics up to the time of migration. We find that, with controls for these characteristics, the difference in occupational attainment between rural and urban migrants becomes statistically insignificant or even positive for some subgroups. In contrast, our analysis of job mobility reveals that rural migrants are generally more mobile and also more likely to move to better jobs by changing work-units, whereas urban migrants are more likely to be promoted within a work-unit.

Keywords: internal migration, China, job mobility, occupational prestige, hukou

JEL Classification: O15, J0, J61, J62

Suggested Citation

Kondo, Ayako and Ou, Dongshu, In Search of a Better Life: The Occupational Attainment of Rural and Urban Migrants in China (September 22, 2010). ISER Discussion Paper No. 793, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1680743 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1680743

Ayako Kondo (Contact Author)

University of Tokyo - Institute of Social Science ( email )

Hongo 7-3-1
Tokyo, TOKYO 113-0033
Japan

Dongshu Ou

Chinese University of Hong Kong ( email )

Shatin, N.T.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong

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