Residential mobility in China: home ownership among rural–urban migrants after reform of the hukou registration system

Residential segregation and well-being inequality over time: A study on the local and migrant elderly people in Shanghai

“…Yet, the degree of Hukou reform still varies considerably between cities, resulting in variability in constraints and resources for migrant elderly. Less developed and smaller cities, which want to promote economic growth, normally have lower standards for Hukou application and welfare provision (Huang, Dijst, van Weesep, & Zou, 2013), while prosperous megacities like Shanghai selectively grant only the richer and better-educated migrants local Hukous and high welfare benefits (Chan & Buckingham, 2008). Policy recently approved by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee states that China will accelerate the Hukou reform in the coming years (China Daily., 2013).…”

Redistribution, Growth, and Inclusion: The Development of the Urban Housing System in China, 1949-2015

“…Throughout history, the rulers had always seen free movement as a seedbed of social, political, and economic upheaval. The policy of registering residents and forbidding migration dates back to 200 A.D. Then, in 1958, China launched the hukou system to connect residential registration with goods allocation (Perry, 1997;Wu & Treiman, 2004;Huang et al, 2013). By preventing rural-urban migration, the government could ensure that the limited amount of goods being produced would sustain the population of the cities.…”

“…To that end, the "blueprint hukou" was invented and issued to migrant homebuyers; with it, they could be treated more like local citizens, though not as their equals (State Council, 1998a;Wu, 2001;Jiang, 2006). Buying a house in the city became the best means of changing one's hukou status and improving one's position (Huang, 2015).…”

“…During the welfare and dual periods, the main criteria for dwelling allocation had been related to variables indicating the 'affinity' to redistributive power such as membership of the CCP, work unit category, and cadre rank (Zhang, 1997). After the housing reform, despite the persistence of redistributive processes (Chen, 2011;Chen, 2012;Li & Li, 2006;Deng et al, 2016), market-oriented factors such as education, occupation, and total household income began to have an impact (Chen, 2011;Logan et al, 2009;Luo, 2013;Huang et al, 2013;Huang & Jiang, 2009;Pan, 2003;Yi & Huang, 2014). Research shows that different institutional elements followed different paths in the reform (Huang & Jiang, 2009;Chen, 2015).…”

“…It is still significant in more-developed municipalities, though, since the housing purchase entitlements are higher there (Huang et al, 2013). Even holding a hukou registration in close proximity (for example, in the same province but a different municipality) gives them a better chance of entering the home ownership sector (Huang et al, 2013;Deng et al, 2016). An alternative explanation of the differences in access for first-time buyers lies in the degree to which locals and immigrants can count on financial support from family (Cui et al, 2016).…”