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Abstract
This paper tests a new strategy for simultaneously studying internal migration within, and international migration from, China. Our theoretical discussion draws on ideas from migration-networks theory and studies of the transition to a market-oriented economy. Data collection is modelled on the Mexican Migration Project. We find that education is more important in initiating internal migration than international migration. Second, although the role of migration networks at a community level seems similar to that for Mexico–USA migration, the networks at a family level show a different pattern. Third, there is evidence that internal and international migration are competing options. Finally, we find that individuals with cadres (public officials) in the family are less likely to undertake internal migration, but more likely to participate in international migration, a finding that highlights the continuing significance of the cadres in coastal rural China.
Notes
1. Zai Liang is at the Department of Sociology, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12222, USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Miao David Chunyu is at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point.
2. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, New Orleans, 19 April 2008. The authors thank Douglas S. Massey and Victor Nee for helpful advice at the initial stage of the project. This project was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1 R01 HD39720-01), the National Science Foundation (SES-0138016), and the Ford Foundation (1025-1056). While working on this paper, the second author was supported by a dissertation fellowship from Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (USA).