Migration, Urbanization and Spatial Dispersion in China

Leiwen Jiang, Brown University

This paper aims to study the impacts of internal migration on urbanization and spatial inequality in China. Using the micro-data of 0.95% sample of the China 2000 Census and adopting a multinomial statistical model, we study the main characteristics of non-migrants, temporary and permanent migrants, and their origin and destination in major metropolitan areas, other cities, small towns and rural areas. Based on the results of statistical analysis, we simulate the major migrating patterns by human capital of the migrants across areas by urbanization categories. Our study will help to answer three main questions: (1) how did the Chinese population redistribute across territory with respect to urbanization categories? (2) How did migration affect urban demographic structure? (3) Has migration contributed to the changes in regional disparities (by skill level) in the past and is it likely to cause further spatial inequality in the future?