On the Formation and Nature of Internal Migration Policies in China : Patterns and Determinants of the Household Registration Reform in 2014

The nationwide reform of the Chinese household registration (hukou) system in 2014 aimed to end the distinction between agricultural and non-agricultural households and convert rural-tourban migrant workers to urban citizens. This study investigates city-level patterns of internal migration policies in response to this reform and the economic, political, and sociocultural determinants that drive policy approaches. First, we collected and systematically coded policy documents from 231 cities. Cluster analyses showed that the majority of cities (63%) adopted less lenient selection policies while offering integrative social welfare policies. This suggests that rights to internal migration remain selectively granted in China, yet rights to welfare have become more equitable than they were in the past because of the reform. Second, we exploited rich data sources and examined the multifaceted determinants of hukou reform. Multinomial regression analyses showed that economic development and growth are related to selection policies that are more lenient toward the high-skilled migrants, whereas top-down controls of superior governments, local politicians’ characteristics (e.g., tenure concerns, and hometown favoritism), and migrants’ sociocultural environments (e.g., pre-existing labor disputes) account for both selection and integration policies. This study highlights that economic and local political forces as well as sociocultural contexts jointly form migration policies