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The <i>Hukou</i> system has been a basic institution in Chinese society for several decades. My thesis explores whether, after nearly 30 years of reform and opening up in China, this system still plays a role in individuals lives and if so, what is this role? This study uses qualitative data from policy documents and quantitative data from the China General Social Survey 2003 to examine differences in income and access to welfare services among rural and urban <i>Hukou</i> holders and in <i>Hukou</i> status conversion both before and since the reform era and point out that the <i>Hukou</i> system contributes to inequality in individuals life chances in two dimensions: resource allocation and <i>Hukou</i> status conversion. The findings show that urban residents are advantaged in resource allocation before and in the reform era; the control mechanism of quota and policy for <i>Hukou</i> status conversion from rural to urban in the pre-reform era was replaced by the locally defined but nationally enforced entry conditions or requirements in reform era. The talented people, the CCP members, the people who have permanent jobs in urban areas, and the people whose family members hold urban Hukou are more likely now to overcome the <i>Hukou</i>-based control. The <i>Hukou</i>-based migration control continues on a localized basis and excludes the majority of rural residents from access to the rights enjoyed by urban residents. The findings of this thesis indicate that the consequences of the Hukou system continue today and additional reform still needs to be introduced.

The <i>Hukou</i> system has been a basic institution in Chinese society for several decades. My thesis explores whether, after nearly 30 years of reform and opening up in China, this system still plays a role in individuals lives and if so, what is this role? This study uses qualitative data from policy documents and quantitative data from the China General Social Survey 2003 to examine differences in income and access to welfare services among rural and urban <i>Hukou</i> holders and in <i>Hukou</i> status conversion both before and since the reform era and point out that the <i>Hukou</i> system contributes to inequality in individuals life chances in two dimensions: resource allocation and <i>Hukou</i> status conversion. The findings show that urban residents are advantaged in resource allocation before and in the reform era; the control mechanism of quota and policy for <i>Hukou</i> status conversion from rural to urban in the pre-reform era was replaced by the locally defined but nationally enforced entry conditions or requirements in reform era. The talented people, the CCP members, the people who have permanent jobs in urban areas, and the people whose family members hold urban Hukou are more likely now to overcome the <i>Hukou</i>-based control. The <i>Hukou</i>-based migration control continues on a localized basis and excludes the majority of rural residents from access to the rights enjoyed by urban residents. The findings of this thesis indicate that the consequences of the Hukou system continue today and additional reform still needs to be introduced.

This dissertation focuses on labour market returns of migrants and non-migrants in transitional urban China. Literature on internal migrants in urban China reveals different perspectives on whether internal migrants have higher or lower labour market returns than urban residents. Labour market segmentation theory highlights the effect of an institutional barrier, the Hukou system, and suggests that migrants are placed in the lower segment of the market while urban residents have many advantages over migrants. On the contrary, migration selectively literature suggests migrants in urban China are positively selected and have higher quality than non-migrants, thus suggesting that migrants have higher-level returns than non-migrants. Market transition theory provides a transitional view and suggests the inequality caused by the Hukou system is decreasing with the development of a market economy, with competitiveness increasing among both migrants and urban non-migrants. The main objective of this research is to examine the differences in earnings and occupational attainments among different population groups - urban non-migrants, temporary migrants and permanent migrants - and their changes over time, and to examine factors that contribute to the changes. Three key factors, Hukou reforms, development of market mechanisms and migration selectivity, are highlighted in this study. Using CGSS 2003 and 2008, the empirical analysis shows that first, the independent effect of migrant status on earnings was significant in 2003 but not significant in 2008, however, migrant status had a significant independent effect on individuals’ occupational attainments in both 2003 and 2008. Second, migration selection had significant and positive effects on individual’s earnings and occupational attainments in both 2003 and 2008. Third, migrants with urban Hukou status have an advantage in labour market returns. Urban migrants (temporary and permanent migrants from urban to urban) had a net earnings advantage over urban non-migrants in two years of 2003 and 2008; permanent migrants (permanent migrants from rural to urban and from urban to urban) had an advantage in occupational attainments over urban non-migrants in both 2003 and 2008. The mixed findings of decreased effects of migrant status on individual’s earnings from 2003 to 2008 and the remaining effect of migrant status on individual’s occupational attainment from 2003 to 2008 indicate that both segmentation and competition exist in urban labour markets in China. This reflects the nature of China’s transition from a planned to a market economy, where growing market forces co-exist with institutional legacies. Migrants in China are positively selected and migration experience contributes positive returns on earnings and occupational attainments.

Les migrations intérieures en Chine sont régulées par le système du Hukou. Celui-ci distingue la population rurale de la population urbaine et matérialise le droit d’accès aux biens publics du lieu d’enregistrement. Deux types de migration sont à distinguer selon que l’individu a pu convertir/ transférer ou non son Hukou en déplacement : migration permanente et migration temporaire. Notre recherche adopte donc une approche dichotomique et comparatiste en vue d’avoir une vue plus intégrale de la migration intérieure en Chine.D’abord, nous nous interrogeons sur les déterminants du choix de la localisation. Le résultat économétrique montre que la migration temporaire est plus déterminée que la migration permanente par les caractéristiques du marché du travail (salaire et chômage). Par ailleurs, les afflux de l’IDE et le développement de l’entreprise rurale représentent un attrait significatif pour les migrants temporaires, contrairement aux migrants permanents. L’autre remarque consiste dans l’attraction des régions autonomes de minorité à l’égard des migrants permanents.Ensuite, nous nous demandons si les deux types de migration créent des différences en termes de profils individuels et d’insertions professionnelles des migrants. Les permanents sont plus qualifiés que les natifs urbains alors que les temporaires sont loin derrière. Quant aux insertions professionnelles, deux indicateurs sont choisis : accès à l’emploi et rémunération. Les temporaires gagnent de 14 à 20% de moins, même si les attributs du capital humain sont contrôlés. Sans discrimination institutionnelle, ils verraient leur proportion dans l’auto-recrutement baisser de 34 %, alors qu’elle augmenterait de 11% pour l’employé et de 50% pour l’ouvrier, toutes choses égales par ailleurs. Or, les permanents sont beaucoup mieux insérés. Ils connaissent seulement une légère discrimination salariale, mais une « discrimination positive » pour l’accès à l’emploi par rapport aux natifs.A la fin de la thèse, nous nous intéressons aux rationalités du système du Hukou. D’une part, la ville d’accueil se sert du Hukou, grâce à la migration permanente, pour attirer les facteurs de production dont elle a besoin : capital et travail qualifié. D’autre part, elle peut bénéficier de la main-d’oeuvre de moindre coût, sans assumer les coûts sociaux à travers la migration temporaire. La Chine en a retiré des gains considérables, tels que la sécurité alimentaire, l’industrialisation à faible coût et la diminution du chômage urbain. Mais les coûts du maintien de ce système sont devenus plus préoccupants à l’heure actuelle, dans la mesure où il renforce la disparité économique, restreint la demande intérieure et forme une attention insuffisante sur les droits et l’égalité. C’est pourquoi nous proposons des mesures de réforme en insistant sur le rôle du gouvernement central. / In China, internal migrations are governed by the Hukou system. This system distinguishes between rural and urban residents and gives citizens' right to public service of the place of registration. We distinguish two types of migration depending on whether the individual was able to convert/transfer his/her Hukou during his/her moves: permanent and temporary migrations. This study will adopt a dichotomous and comparatist approach so as to have a more comprehensive view of internal migrations in China.First of all, we will analyze the determining factors of location purposes. The econometric result suggests that, compared to permanent migration, temporary moves are caused by variations in the labour market (wages, unemployment). Furthermore, the FDI inflows, and EVB (village enterprise) development are great incentives for temporary migration unlike permanent migration. Another observation is related to the attractiveness of autonomous minority regions for permanent migrants.Secondly, we wonder if both types of migration generate some differences in the individual profiles and the integration of workers. Permanent migrants are more qualified than urban residents, while temporary migrants are far behind them. As far as vocational integration is concerned, two indicators have been selected: access to employment and wages. The temporary workers earn 14 to 20% less than the others; their ratio in self-recruitment would otherwise be 34% lower but it would be 11% higher for the employee and 50% for the worker, all things being equal. On the other hand, the permanent migrants are only faced with low wage discrimination, and to a “positive discrimination” as far as access to employment is considered.At the end of the thesis, we will focus on the rationale of the Hukou system. The host towns resort to the Hukou system to attract permanent migrants in order to obtain the production factors they need: investment and skilled labour. Through temporary migration, they can take benefit from low-cost manpower without accepting the social costs. It is obvious that China has substantially gained by the contemporary Hukou system: food security, low-cost industrialization, and control over urban unemployment. However, the cost of maintaining it is increasingly worrying since it reinforces economic disparity, reduces domestic demand, and causes the policy to depart from aim of right and equality. In this case, it will be an opportunity to propose reforms while emphasising the role of the central government.

The distinctive household registration (hukou or huji) system of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) divides the population into two groups whose political rights and legal status are unequal. This thesis focuses on Shanghai to examine the establishment of the hukou system in the 1950s in the course of the rural and urban reforms led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Although the system has been explained as a result of the CCP’s industrialization strategy, my investigation has led me to conclude that the hukou system was an indirect rather than direct consequence of industrialization. My examination also shows that “rural” and “urban” in the PRC are essentially neither residential nor occupational categories; rather they are closely connected with political privileges. The first part of this study focuses on the consequences of the CCP’s land reform and collectivization campaigns after 1949. During this period, a large number of people who had moved freely between urban and rural areas, playing active roles in both, were uprooted from the countryside. At the same time, the CCP carried out a series of expulsions from Shanghai and other cities. Hundreds of thousands of urban residents, particularly those lacking secure employment, were removed after being labeled as “undesirable.” Thus CCP policies turned the cities and the countryside into two separate worlds. Next the dissertation outlines how the PRC state evolved after 1949, focusing on those directly maintained on the government’s payroll in Shanghai. This group was small in the beginning but soon began to expand. During the 1950s, after taking over almost all public-service institutions, the state took steps to absorb private enterprises through the policy of “public-private joint operation.” A large cohort of workers was thus added to the state payroll. Following these changes, the cities had become home mainly to employees of the party-state, together with their dependents. The state provided various benefits to its insiders. At the same time, it reduced most of the rural population to a kind of serfdom, while putting in place a set of mechanisms to secure the boundary between insiders and outsiders. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2012-06-27 09:01:49.88

The history of now-developed countries implies a common transformation path of economic development. That is, within an economy, as wage grows in non-farm sectors, labour migrates out of agriculture. With fewer workers, agricultural land resources may concentrate into the hands of fewer but larger farm operations (agricultural land consolidation), with more investment and higher production specification. However, the development process of China is less likely to trace the same path as it does in these countries, given its distinctive institutions. To examine the development process in the unique context of China, this dissertation focuses on two questions: (1) how do China’s rural workers self-select into off-farm employment (OFE)? (2) How does agricultural land consolidation occur in China? In addressing the first question, I use Roy’s self-section model to analyze the following three occupational choices of China’s rural residents: farming only, local OFE, and migratory OFE. Based on household survey data from 101 communities in rural China in 2004 and 2007, the empirical results show that individual and household characteristics are important self-selecting factors for OFE participation. More importantly, I find that the increase of OFE in China is largely consistent with market-driven expectations. In addressing the question of whether and why the consolidation of farm operations develops in China’s agriculture, I assess the divergence between the size of farm operations from equal entitlements. The theoretical model predicts that a higher opportunity cost of farm labour, in the form of the urban wage, exerts a positive influence on consolidation of farm operations through rental arrangements. A Gini index is used to measure the inequality of farmland operations relative to equal farmland entitlements, with greater inequality being consist with higher consolidation of farm operations. Empirical results support the theoretical prediction, specifically, a 1000-yuan increase in the annual urban wage, holding all other influences constant, increases the Gini index by 0.012 (mean=0.26) over the 2004-2007 period.