Hukou Reform, Return Migration and lmplications for Urban Development in China

Speaker:ZHANG Jipeng

Venue: School of Economics, Room 618

Abstract: In recent years, China has made remarkable progress in Hukou reform. Based on government policy documents and our fieldwork, we construct a quantitative measure of Hukou registration barriers in Chinese cities. First-tier and some second-tier cities set high criteria for local Hukou registration that have become more stringent over time, while other cities have much lower requirements. Drawing on household survey data, we show that stricter Hukou restrictions lead to a sianificant increase in return migration, especially among those with rural Hukou, low education level, and poor health status. Finally, we estimate the effects of further loosening Hukou restrictions, finding that granting Hukou to migrants in lower-tier cities would increase educational attainment, but impose fiscal strains on top-tier cities.