How housing rent affect migrants' consumption and social integration? : evidence from China Migrants Dynamic Survey

In this paper, we examine the impact of housing rent increase on migrants' household consumption and social integration. Using the China Migrants Dynamic Survey 2011-2014, we find that rent increase significantly reduces migrants’ non-housing consumption and leads to deteriorating social integration. Heterogeneous analyses find that rent increase has a larger impact on male migrants, older people with high school degrees or above, and those who work in the service industry. Additionally, rent increase exacerbates residential segregation between migrants and local residents. Our study provides implications for how policies can help migrants adapt to urban life.