Migration in China: push and pull factors

Question 1

Migration

Answer 1

the permanent change of residence with a complete change of friends and social institutions.

Question 2

Types of migration

Answer 2

• Forced or voluntary
• Long distance or short distance
• International or internal

Question 3

Push factors of migration

Answer 3

causing a person to move away from a place

Question 4

Examples of push factors of migration

Answer 4

• unemployment
• low wages
• natural hazards.

Question 5

Pull factors of migration

Answer 5

attractions that exist at another place- whether real or imagined

Question 6

Examples of pull factors of migration

Answer 6

• better wage
• more jobs
• good schools.

Question 7

Variation of migration

Answer 7

• High proportion of the population migrating at 20-24 year olds (peak).
• The number of people migrating decreases with age until 35-45 years in which there’s a general increase (mostly after 55-60 years due to retirement)

Question 8

Theories and laws of migration

Answer 8

Ravenstein (North-West of Britain in 1880s)

Question 9

Ravenstein (North-West of Britain in 1880s) found that:

Answer 9

1. Most migrants move a short distance - due to limited tech/transport and poor communications (people know more about local opportunities)
   
   2. Migration occurs in a series of step or stages - typically from rural to small town to large town to city (once in an urban area, they become ‘locked in’ to the urban hierarchy)
   3. There’s also movement away from large cities (dispersal)- the rich move away from urban areas and commute from nearby villages and (an early form of suburbanisation and counter-urbanisation)
   4. Long-distance migrants are more likely to go to large cities - people will only know about the opportunities in large cities
   5. Urban dwellers are less migratory than rural dwellers- less opportunities in rural areas
   6. Women are more migratory than men over short-distances - especially in societies where the status of women is low
   7. Migration increases with advances in tech - e.g transport, communications and the spread of information

Question 10

“Perceived” factors

Answer 10

refers to what the migrant imagines exists, rather than what actually does exist.

Question 11

Examples of perceived factors:

Answer 11

• People are free to migrate
  
  • People have the skills, education and qualifications which allow them to move
  • There are no barriers to migration such as race, class, income, language, gender etc
  • Distance is not a barrier

Question 12

Internal migration

Answer 12

people mainly moving from less developed parts of the country to most prosperous cities such as Beijing

Question 13

Migrants and economic growth

Answer 13

• By 2025, 221 Chinese cities will have over 1 million people living in them (Europe has 35 today)
• GDP will has multiplied x 5

Question 14

Population migration between 1982 and 1987

Answer 14

Population migration increased between 1982 and 1987 and between these years ‘official’ migrants accounted for nearly 3% of the population.

Question 15

Areas people migrated to

Answer 15

• Most people migrated to factories and mines in inland areas
• Of the 30 million migrants, 79% stayed within their own province, the other 21% were involved in inter-provincial migration.

Question 16

Provinces that gained the most migrants

Answer 16

• Shanghai
  
  • Beijing (most popular)
  • Hebei
  • Shandong

Question 17

How much of migration was internal?

Answer 17

Between 1985 and 1990, 80% was internal (involved moving to or within an urban area)

Question 18

Rural to urban migration statistic

Answer 18

• Since 1979, over 100 million people have left rural areas for urban ones.

Question 19

Implication of the rural to urban migration

Answer 19

1. The selective removal of the younger, more able population to urban areas
2. An ageing population in rural area
3. Over-population in urban areas causing a strain on housing, education, health and services such as water and electricity

Question 20

What is life like for young people who move to urban areas?

Answer 20

When young people move in search of employment, they often encounter poor working conditions and low wages.

Question 21

Consequences of rural to urban migration

Answer 21

• The emergence of slums and squatter settlements
• An urban under class of temporary residence or unemployed who have little to no access to healthcare facilities, housing, education or social welfare benefits.

Question 22

What has China done to keep up with the mass migration?

Answer 22

• China has created SEZs, high-tech industrial parks, and tariff free districts, slightly outside of urban and crowded areas to attract more foreign direct investment and jobs.
• There has been a lack of co-ordination between Local and regional governments making this development unpredictable and inconsistent.

Question 23

Income disparities statistics

Answer 23

In 2000, the per capita GDP of Shanghai was nearly 10 times that of Guizhou Province in South Central China.

Question 24

Significance of rural-urban migration

Answer 24

• Young rural-urban migrants are referred to as “new-generation’ migrants.
• They are becoming the driving force behind China’s migrant labour

Question 25

Government policies were effective in controlling migration

Question 26

Migrants labour force statistic

Answer 26

• 44.4% of new generation migrant works are employed in the manufacturing industry compared to 31.5% of the previous generation

Question 27

Wellbeing of migrants

Answer 27

• Having migrated after limited years of schooling, migrants face high pressure from work, low satisfaction in therms of their wages, unsure self-identification (villager of citizen and lack of happiness

Question 28

Wellbeing of migrants statistic

Answer 28

• In a factory owned by one of China’s largest employers of rural migrant workers, there were 13 suicides. Young migrant workers are a greater risk for falling victim to crime
• In 2010, it was estimated 1/3 urban crimes were related to migrants

Question 29

Why young migrants move?

Answer 29

• the attraction of city life (for fun or to explore the world)
• Boredom with village life
• Freedom from their parents (from an arranged marriage)

Question 30

Urbanisation conclusion

Answer 30

• In recent years officials have vowed to relax the system further in order to promote urbanisation, which is needed to drive economic growth.
• Many observers are sceptical; the Communist Party has promised reform for decades.
• Yet the system is gradually changing, albeit in ways that are creating new fractures between rich and poor.

Question 31

Voluntary migration

Answer 31

this is when migration is based on one’s free will and initiative

Question 32

Voluntary migration example

Answer 32

• in search of a better life; more job opportunities, better pay etc. - moving for relationships e.g. marriage, family reunification or for retirement, individual preferences (e.g. a better climate or quieter pace of life) or even political reasons - for example moving to a province that allows gay marriage or moving from a conservative to a liberal state).

Question 33

Voluntary migration statistic

Answer 33

• The Great Internal Migration
• rural migrant worker population has significantly expanded 1989: roughly 30 million 2008: more than 140 million
• however, not quite what it was hoped to be, as = high rates of urban unemployment or forced rural migrants to work in unstable & unsafe jobs.