Like income inequality, housing inequality in urban China is strongly affected by state policies that give preferential treatment to insiders. In this case, the key policies are related to their residence status, which involves not only their migration history but also their legal position. Using data from the Chinese census of 2000 for eight large cities, this study shows how residence status affects access to various pathways to housing. In addition to the well-known marginal housing situation of the recent ‘floating population’, it documents surprising advantages for migrants with urban registration status and persistent disadvantages for rural migrants regardless of how long they have lived in the city.

Housing reform in China has proceeded on two tracks: privatization of public housing and development of a new private housing sector. During this period of transition, rents have remained relatively low in the remaining public housing, and purchase prices offered to occupants of public housing have been well below market prices. Although these rents and prices are partly based on known formulas, there is considerable variability in how much people pay for similar apartments. This study uses 2000 Census data to estimate the housing subsidy received by the remaining renters in the public sector and purchasers of public housing, based on private sector prices for housing of comparable quality and size. The paper also analyzes variation in the estimated discount from market prices that these people receive. The findings show that the biggest winners in China’s transition from socialist housing allocation are those who were favored in the previous system, based on such factors as residence status, education and occupation.

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This paper compares the knowledge and utilization of health services among rural residents, urban residents, rural migrants and urban migrants in a large Chinese city. Data were obtained from a questionnaire survey of 2765 individuals (1951 heads of households and 814 spouses) in Guandu district, Kunming, in 2005. The determinants of their knowledge and utilization of health services were analysed using multivariate logistic regression. First, the migrant population was less likely to know of, or utilize, high-level hospitals and township hospitals than residents. Migrants were more likely to utilize private rather than public services for general health care and delivery care. Second, there was a difference between rural migrants and urban migrants in terms of knowledge and utilization of health services. Rural migrants utilized more low-cost private clinics, but had less knowledge about sources of condoms than urban migrants. Finally, rural residents had more knowledge and utilization of township hospitals than urban residents. This latter group were more likely to utilize high-level hospitals. Migrants' access to health care in urban China is understood better using a dual rural-urban and migrant-resident analytical framework. Rural migrants are the most disadvantaged in their access to urban health care. Further reform of the registered residence system and urban public financing system is recommended. Better information on services and their utilization should be provided to migrants and residents.