Migration policies on migrant–native marriage: A multilevel analysis of 43 Chinese cities

Abstract

China's household registration (hukou) system creates internal migration patterns similar to international patterns. Variations in the stringency of city policies for acquiring local hukou provide a unique opportunity to examine how migration policies affect migrant–native marriage. In this study, we merge a city‐level index that measures the overall difficulty of obtaining local hukou in 43 Chinese cities with China's 2005 mini‐census. Results from multilevel logistic regression models reveal that migration policies have heterogeneous effects on intermarriage. For migrant men, as it becomes more difficult to acquire local hukou, it becomes less likely that a less educated migrant man will marry and more likely that a better educated migrant man will marry a local hukou holder. For migrant women, their likelihood of intermarriage does not vary much with the stringency of hukou policies. These findings suggest that migration policies reinforce inequality between migrants and natives and within the migrant population.

The impact of the new trend of urban‐to‐urban migration on fertility behaviors

“…It's worth noting that our definition of migration diverges from those in existing studies on internal migration in China. Some scholars define internal migration as changes in the registered hukou location, emphasizing its impact on demographic and social behaviors (Chu et al, 2018; Huang et al, 2017; Tian & Qian, 2022). The results under this definition are more influenced by changes in social welfare benefits related to hukou.…”

Love is Elsewhere: Internal Migration and Marriage Prospects in China

“…Less is known about the effect of migration on the marriage prospects of the unmarried . One line of such literature focused on assortative matching in the receiving community, showing administrative constraints and social or cultural barriers against intermarriage between migrants and natives Qian & Qian, 2020;Tian & Qian, 2021). However, unmarried migrants might have more options after moving to a populous and active marriage market, so it is uncertain whether their marriage prospects improve or deteriorate.…”