The floating populations household strategies and the role of migration in China's regional development and integration

Abstract

This paper examines the floating population, one of the most important products of China's reform and open-door policies since the 1980s, from the perspectives of household strategies in migration, regional development and regional integration. Based on various data sources, including government statistics, questionnaire surveys, literature research and case studies, the paper suggests that the emergence and development of the floating population has been one response to widening regional gaps, one of the major issues arising from China's recent development. One cause of this common, non-permanent form of migration is China's household registration system, but the household strategies of migrants must also be recognised as an important element underpinning this process. Further analysis shows that the attraction of the prosperous areas to the floating population has been closely related to the involvement of China's coastal areas in the process of globalisation. One special group of migrants and their descendants, that is the Chinese overseas and Chinese in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, have played important roles in this process and have contributed greatly to the prosperity of the coastal areas. It is argued that the new generation of migrants, the floating population who have also played an important role in the prosperity of the coastal areas, may also be instrumental in the development of their hometowns, helping to reduce the problem of regional disparity in China. Thus an important implication of this study is that although migrants often move because of unbalanced regional development, eventually they could be a driving force for regional integration; this should be given more attention in both academic research and policy making.