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Since the mid-1980s, mass migration from the countryside to urban areas has been one of the most dramatic and noticeable changes in China. Labour migration has not only exerted a profound impact on China's economy; it has also had far-reaching consequences for its social development. This book examines labour migration in China, focusing on the social dimensions of this phenomenon, as well as on the economic aspects of the migration and development relationship. It provides in-depth coverage of pertinent topics which include the role of labour migration in poverty alleviation; the social costs of remittance and regional, gender and generational inequalities in their distribution; hukou reform and the inclusion of migrants in urban social security and medical insurance systems; the provision of schools for migrants' children; the provision of sexual health services to migrants; the housing conditions of migrants; the mobilization of women workers' social networks to improve labour protection; and the role of NGOs in providing social services for migrants. Throughout, it pays particular attention to policy implications, including the impact of the recent policy shift of the Chinese government, which has made social issues more central to national development policies, and has initiated policy reforms pertaining to migration.
List of contents
Foreword Frank Laczko 1. Introduction: Labour Migration and Social Development in China Rachel Murphy 2. Migration and Poverty Alleviation in China Dewen Wang and Fang Cai 3. Migrant Remittances in China: the Distribution of Economic Benefits and Social Costs Rachel Murphy 4. Hukou Reform and Social Security for Migrant Workers in China Ran Tao 5. Migrant Children and Migrant Schooling: Policies, Problems and Possibilities Terry Woronov 6. Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues Among Migrants in China Caroline Hoy 7. Housing and Migrants in Cities Ya Ping Wang and Yanglin Wang 8. The Making of a Global Dormitory Labour Regime: Labour Protection and Labour Organizing of Migrant Women in South China Pun Ngai 9. NGOs, Civil Society and Migrants in China Jude Howell
About the author
Rachel Murphy is University Lecturer in the Sociology of China and Faculty Fellow at St Antony's College, University of Oxford. Her publications include How Migrant Labor is Changing Rural China (2002), Chinese Citizenship: Views from the Margins (2006, co-ed with V. L. Fong), Media, Identity and Struggle in 21st Century China (2008, co-ed with V. L. Fong) and articles in China Quarterly, Population and Development Review and Journal of Peasant Studies.
Summary
This book examines labour migration in China, focusing in particular on the social dimensions, exploring important issues including poverty alleviation, inequality, social insurance, health and education, and the role of NGOs. It considers the impact of changing government policy, which has made social issues more central to national development policies.
