Forever young: China's migration regime and age patterns.

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Demography
• Economics

Background:

• China's household registration (hukou) system restricts internal migrants' access to social services.
• This limits the long-term settlement of a significant migrant population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a novel method for assessing migrant settlement using age data.
• To investigate the factors hindering migrant settlement in China, focusing on family and residence.
• To compare China's migration age patterns with international data.

Main Methods:

• Development of age-related indices to analyze migrant "flow" and "stock".
• Comparison of age-specific migration patterns between China and other countries.
• Application of an age-based "mobile-to-settled" transition framework.

Main Results:

• A distinct "China difference" in migration age patterns was identified.
• Child and elderly dependents are discouraged from migrating with workers.
• Older migrants are more likely to return to their origin regions than settle.
• Family togetherness and long-term residence are often unattainable for Chinese migrants.

Conclusions:

• China's migrant labor regime "recycles" temporary workers to maintain a young workforce, lowering production costs.
• The age-based framework offers a valuable tool for analyzing migrant settlement generally, applicable globally.
• The findings underscore the systemic barriers to migrant integration in China.