Urban-Rural Extension: Urban-Rural Reproduction Among Different Groups of Children

Abstract

The authors analyze survey data from four groups of children (urban children, migrant children, rural left-behind children, and ordinary rural children) to explore their social resource access with respect to educational resources, health resources, and family support. The study finds that urban children are advantaged in all three areas compared with the other children groups. Regarding access to educational and health resources, urban children and migrant children living in urban areas are advantaged compared with children living in rural areas. Regarding family support, urban children and ordinary rural children are advantaged over migrant children and left-behind children, as labor force migrations lead to families that are split apart. The authors find the urban-rural-based binary structure differentially impacts the four children groups with respect to access to social resources. The study analyzes the accessibility of education resource, health resource, and family support of urban children, migrant children, rural children and left-behind children and finds out that the urban children take more advantages of each dimension than others. Both urban children and migrant children living in urban place gain more access to education resource and health resource; urban children and rural children are more accessible to family support compared with migrant children and left-behind children due to the “split family” produced by the migrant labor market. The authors conclude that the different accessibility to social resources among different groups of children has already produced differentiation among children.

Keywords:

• education resources
• family support
• four groups of children
• health resources
• urban-rural dual structure

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Han Jialing

Han Jialing is a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Sociology.

Gao Yong

Gao Yong is an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Population and Labor Economics.

Zhang Yan

Zhang Yan is an assistant researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Social Development.

Han Chengming

Han Chengming is a research assistant at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Sociology.