The title investigates rural labor mobility in China since 2003, an important phenomenon in the process of Chinese economic transition, influential in economic growth at the macro level and individual wellbeing at the micro level. Based on empirical analysis, the study identifies and evaluates the characteristics, driving forces and impact of the migration and mobility of the rural labor force. The following factors are considered to impact rural workers' mobility decisions and are thoroughly discussed in each chapter: (1) convergence in the level of regional income, (2) industrial structure and the age structure of the workforce, (3) the household registration system, (4) the income gap, (5) the issue of children that are left behind, (6) the health status of rural migrant workers and (7) their social networks. Drawing on new research methods, the final chapter reassesses the impact of rural parents' migration to the city and the overall wellbeing of their children left behind at home, challenging the well-accepted view that there is a negative correlation between the two. The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in labor economics, Chinese economy, sociology, demography, migrant population and especially labor mobility in China.

This book investigates the population and labour management reforms implemented since the reform and opening up of China in the early 1980s, giving insights into the economic and social implications of these reforms and future prospects for population governance. The study examines three major components of China's population management strategy in terms of its history and implementation: the household registration (Hukou) system, family planning policy, and the labour market system. Grounded in both qualitative and quantitative analysis, key metrics are introduced to better understand the Hukou system on the one hand while exploring the socio-economic issues arising from the policy, including the economic behaviour or residents, fertility, care of older people, entrepreneurship, institutional premiums and gender wage differentials. Based on these investigations, the author advances constructive suggestions to inform policymaking, aiming to deepen market-oriented reform of the economic system and improve social welfare in China. The title will be a good reference for academics, students and policy makers interested in social policy, labour economics and especially China's population and labour policy and Chinese economy and society.

The title investigates rural labor mobility in China since 2003, an important phenomenon in the process of Chinese economic transition, influential in economic growth at the macro level and individual wellbeing at the micro level. Based on empirical analysis, the study identifies and evaluates the characteristics, driving forces and impact of the migration and mobility of the rural labor force. The following factors are considered to impact rural workers' mobility decisions and are thoroughly discussed in each chapter: (1) convergence in the level of regional income, (2) industrial structure and the age structure of the workforce, (3) the household registration system, (4) the income gap, (5) the issue of children that are left behind, (6) the health status of rural migrant workers and (7) their social networks. Drawing on new research methods, the final chapter reassesses the impact of rural parents' migration to the city and the overall wellbeing of their children left behind at home, challenging the well-accepted view that there is a negative correlation between the two. The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in labor economics, Chinese economy, sociology, demography, migrant population and especially labor mobility in China.