This article draws on a survey of internal migrant workers in China’s Jiangsu province to shed light on the characteristics of migrant workers who receive social insurance and explain why some migrants take up social insurance while others do not. Of the factors which potentially explain which migrants receive social insurance, gender, past earnings, ties to the city to which the migrant had moved, the ownership type of the enterprise in which the migrant works and residential registration status are all found to be statistically significant predictors. The article concludes with the suggestion that the high level of scepticism with respect to social protection that has been reported as being manifest among migrants is justified. There is little likelihood the majority of migrant workers who have moved to China’s towns and cities will be able to access the social insurance benefits traditionally available to those with urban registration.
Ash, L. (2002) ‘Inside China’s Sweatshops’, BBC News Report, July 20.
2.
Bureau of Jiangsu Rural Economy Survey (2004) ‘Investigative Update Report on the Situation of the Jiangsu Rural Labour Force Migration’, Jiangsu Rural Survey Bulletin31(February): 9–13. (in Chinese)
3.
Cao, Y. (2002) ‘A Brief Discussion of Administering and Controlling the Migrant Labour Force’ , Shanghai Labour Security16: 22–24 . (in Chinese)
4.
Chan, A. (2001) China’s Workers under Assault: The Exploitation of Labour in a Globalizing Economy. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe .
5.
Cooke, F.L. (2001) ‘Equal Opportunity? The Role of Legislation and Public Policies in Women’s Employment in China’ , Women in Management Review16(7): 334–348 .
6.
De Brauw, A. , Huang, J. , Rozelle, S. , Zhang, L. and Zhang, Y. (2002) ‘The Evolution of China’s Rural Labour Markets during the Reforms’ , Journal of Comparative Economics30(2): 329–353 .
7.
Gui, S. (1992) ‘Resolutely Strengthen the Management of Fertility Planning among Migrants’ , Population Dynamics1: 9–10 . (in Chinese)
8.
Hare, D. (1999) ‘Push versus Pull Factors in Migration Outflows and Returns: Determinants of Migration Status and Spell Duration among China’s Rural Population’ , Journal of Development Studies35(3): 45–72 .
9.
Hare, D. (2002) ‘The Determinants of Job Location and its Effect on Migrants’ Wages: Evidence from Rural China’ , Economic Development and Cultural Change50(3): 557–579 .
10.
He, F. (2002) ‘Consequences on the Health and Safety of Workers: From Evidence to Action of Intervention’, unpublished manuscript, Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease, Prevention and Control.
11.
Hong Kong Commercial Daily (2002), (15 September): B1.
12.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) (1998) ‘China: Promoting Safety and Health in Township and Village Enterprises’, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, accessed 21 July 2005, http://www.ilo.org/public/english
13.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2001) The Construction Industry in the 21st Century: Its Image, Employment Prospects and Skill Requirements. Geneva: ILO .
14.
Jowett, A.J. (1989) ‘Mainland China: A National One-Child Program Does Not Exist’ , Issues and Studies25(9): 48–70 .
15.
Kim, W.M. (1990) ‘Population Distribution Policy in China: A Review’ , Population Development Dialogue11(1): 159–187 .
16.
Lague, D. (2003) ‘The Human Tide Sweeps into Cities’, Far Eastern Economic Review (9 January): 24–28.
17.
Lam, T.F.-K. (2000) ‘Occupational Health and Safety in China’, Asian Labour Update, accessed 21 July 2005, http://www.amrc.org.hk/alu
18.
Li, Q. (2002) ‘A Group that Needs Attention from Society: A Survey of Unemployment and Social Security Issues among Rural Workers’, Economic Daily (27 May). (in Chinese)
19.
Li, Z. and Wan, G.M. (2004) An Analysis on the Policy Selection of Social Insurance during the Transition Period in China in Social Security System. Beijing: Renmin University Press .
20.
Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MOLSS) (2004) White Paper on Social Security. Beijing: Ministry of Labour and Social Security .
21.
Pan, P. (2002) ‘Poisoned Back into Poverty: As China Embraces Capitalism: Hazards to Workers Rise’ , Washington Post(4 August): 4-4, A01-A01 .
22.
Roberts, K. (2001) ‘The Determinants of Job Choice by Rural Labour Migrants in Shanghai’ , China Economic Review12(1): 15–39 .
23.
Roberts, K. (2002) ‘Female Labour Migrants to Shanghai: Temporary “Floaters” or Potential Settlers?’ , International Migration Review36(2): 492–519 .
24.
Rozelle, S. , Taylor, J.E. , De Brauw, A. (1999) ‘Migration, Remittances and Agricultural Productivity in China’ , American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings89(2): 287–291 .
25.
Seeborg, M. , Jin, Z. and Zhu, Y. (2000) ‘The New Rural-Urban Mobility in China: Causes and Implications’ , Journal of Socio-Economics29(1): 39–56 .
26.
Smith, C.J. and Fan, D. (1995) ‘Health, Wealth and Inequality in the Chinese City’ , Health and Place1(3): 167–177 .
27.
Solinger, D. (1993) ‘China’s Transients and the State: A Form of Civil Society?’ , Politics and Society21(1): 91–122 .
28.
Solinger, D. (1995) ‘China’s Urban Transients in the Transition from Socialism and the Collapse of the Communist “Urban Public Goods Regime”’ , Comparative Politics27(2): 127–146 .
29.
Solinger, D. (1999) Contesting Citizenship in Urban China: Peasant Migrants, the State and the Logic of the Market. Berkeley: University of California Press .
30.
Solinger, D. (2001) ‘Globalization and the Paradox of Participation: The China Case’ , Global Governance7(2): 173–196 .
31.
State Statistical Bureau (2003a) Statistics Bulletin of Nanjing Economic and Social Development. Nanjing: SSB .
32.
State Statistical Bureau (2003b) Statistics Bulletin of Kunshan Economic and Social Development. Nanjing, China: State Statistical Bureau .
33.
State Statistical Bureau (2003c) Jiangsu Statistical Yearbook. Nanjing, China: SSB .
34.
State Statistical Bureau (2004) China Labour Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: SSB .
35.
Suzhou Municipal Government (2003) Provisional Regulations on the Management of Rural Basic Pension Insurance. Suzhou, China: Suzhou Municipal Government .
36.
Tu, Q. and Cui, S. (1990) ‘Initial Exploration of the Reasons for Unplanned Births among the Floating Population and Policy Responses’ , Population Dynamics4: 28–31 . (in Chinese)
37.
Wang, H. (2004) ‘People on the Move: Old Residence Registration System is being Unified’ , Beijing Review41(1): 32–33 .
38.
Wang, Z. (2002) ‘Why Migrant Labour Dominates the Catering Industry’ , Shanghai Labour Security3: 27–28 . (in Chinese)
39.
Wong, L. (1994) ‘China’s Urban Migrants: The Public Policy Challenge’ , Pacific Affairs67(3): 335–350 .
40.
Woon, Y.F. (1993) ‘Circulatory Mobility in Post-Mao China: Temporary Migrants in Kaiping County, Pearl River Delta Region’ , International Migration Review27(3): 578–604 .
41.
Wu, H.X. and Zhou, L. (1996) ‘Rural to Urban Migration in China’ , Asian-Pacific Economic Literature10(2): 54–67 .
42.
Wu, W. (2001) ‘Labor Mobility in China: A Review of the Program Redressing Discrimination against Labor Migrants 1997–2001’, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Virginia Commonwealth University .
43.
Xu, H. (2001) ‘Commuting Town Workers: The Case of Qinshan, China’ , Habitat International25(1): 35–47 .
44.
Zhao, C. (2002) ‘Are You All Right? Young Workers from Outside’ , Shanghai Labour Security30(2): 12–13 . (in Chinese)
45.
Zhao, Y. (1999) ‘Leaving the Countryside: Rural to Urban Migration Decisions in China’ , American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings89(2): 281–286 .
46.
Zhao, Y. (2002) ‘Causes and Consequences of Return Migration: Recent Evidence from China’ , Journal of Comparative Economics30(2): 376–394 .
