Attitudes Toward Internal and Foreign Migration: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in China

MIT Political Science Department Research Paper No. 2017-28

forthcoming, Public Opinion Quarterly. See davidsinger.mit.edu for details.

41 Pages Posted: 19 Oct 2017 Last revised: 3 May 2021

See all articles by David Andrew Singer

David Andrew Singer

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Political Science

Kai Quek

The University of Hong Kong

Date Written: October 17, 2017

Abstract

We explore attitudes toward internal and foreign migration in China using an original survey experiment. If labor market competition drives attitudes, then residents will be opposed to migrants with comparable skill levels, regardless of migrant origin. If residents fear a dilution of their national identity, then they will be more opposed to foreign migration than internal migration. We test these arguments by randomly assigning respondents to answer questions about migrants with different skills levels and from either foreign countries or other provinces in China. We find that attitudes cleave universally over skill level, but the foreign-internal dimension is, on its own, not a salient cleavage in preferences. However, when considering high-skilled migrants, respondents are more supportive of foreign than internal migration; when considering low-skilled migrants, they are more opposed to foreign than internal migration. The results cast further doubt on material explanations for attitudes toward migration and suggest a reevaluation of cultural threat arguments that privilege nationality and national borders.

Keywords: migration, immigration, china, survey, attitudes, public opinion, experiment

Suggested Citation

Singer, David Andrew and Quek, Kai, Attitudes Toward Internal and Foreign Migration: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in China (October 17, 2017). MIT Political Science Department Research Paper No. 2017-28, forthcoming, Public Opinion Quarterly. See davidsinger.mit.edu for details., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3055221 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3055221

David Andrew Singer (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Political Science ( email )

77 Massachusetts Ave.
E53-470
Cambridge, MA 02139-4301
United States

Kai Quek

The University of Hong Kong ( email )

Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong, Pokfulam HK
China

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