Rural Urban Migration and Policy Intervention in China

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Introduction

   • Li Sun

   Pages 1-9

3. A Glance on Rural–Urban Migration

   • Li Sun

   Pages 11-38

4. Concepts and Methods: Coping as a Social Action

   • Li Sun

   Pages 39-68

5. Migration Phase and State Intervention in the History of the PRC

   • Li Sun

   Pages 69-88

6. Rural–Urban Migration Policies in China Since 2000s

   • Li Sun

   Pages 89-108

7. Job Seeking: Social Networks as a Functional Substitute for Government’s Program

   • Li Sun

   Pages 109-122

8. Wage Exploitation: Protests as an Emerging Strategy in Chinese Society

   • Li Sun

   Pages 123-135

9. Work-Related Injuries: Injured But Not Entitled for Legal Compensation

   • Li Sun

   Pages 137-151

10. Illness in Cities: Claimants Appreciate the Usefulness of “Money”

    • Li Sun

    Pages 153-162

11. Conclusion and Discussion

    • Li Sun

    Pages 163-175

12. Back Matter

    Pages 177-193

    PDF

This book examines rural-urban migration policies in China, and considers how Chinese workers cope with migration events in the context of these policies. It explores the contribution of migrant workers to the Chinese economy, the impact of changes within the ‘hukou’ system (household registration) and the impact of recent migration policies promoting  rural-urban migration and targeting key events during migrant workers’ migration trajectories - job-seeking, wage exploitation, work injuries and illness - namely the corresponding ‘Skills Training Program for Migrant Workers’,  the ‘Circular on Managing Wage Payment to Migrant Workers’,  the ‘Circular on Migrant Workers Participating in Work-Related Injury Insurance’, and the ‘New Rural Medical Cooperative Scheme’ (Health Insurance). Through in-depth interviews, it examines how when facing such challenges, migrant workers choose to either make a claim under existing policies, or use other coping strategies. The book notably proposes a typology of “coping” which includes a variety of administrative coping, political coping and social coping, and considers how workers in China harness the power of civil groups and social networks.

• Rural Urban Migration in China
• Chinese Migrant Coping Strategies
• Internal Migration and the Chinese Economy
• Social and Labour Welfare in China
• Urbanisation and Migration Policy in China
• Informal Labour in China
• Social Action and Economic Migration in China

• University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

  Li Sun

Li Sun is a lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Her primary research interest is China’s urbanization, including rural-urban migration, social inequality, social protection, land and housing issues, and public policies. Dr Sun also serves as a consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as various government offices in China, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

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