Migrant labour flows and interconnected agrarian transformations in Southern China

Area of Science:

• Agrarian studies
• Economic sociology
• Rural sociology

Background:

• Contemporary debates on agrarian transformations often overlook the role of migrant labor.
• Rural economies face labor shortages due to domestic rural-urban migration.
• Capitalist accumulation in agriculture is influenced by labor dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of migrant wage labor in agrarian transformations in southern China.
• To analyze how migrant labor addresses labor shortages caused by domestic migration.
• To understand the interconnectedness of land, labor, production, and social reproduction between China and Myanmar.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of land-related labor flows between southern China and Myanmar.
• Examination of the links between social classes and their engagement with land, wage work, and capital accumulation.
• Adoption of an interconnected methodological approach to study agrarian transformation.

Main Results:

• Migrant workers from Myanmar are crucial for capitalist accumulation in southern China's agrarian and food sectors.
• Two key land-related labor flows facilitate agrarian transformation in the China-Myanmar regions.
• Social classes in both countries are linked through land, wage work, and capital accumulation, with intertwined productive and reproductive tasks.

Conclusions:

• Migrant labor is a significant, yet under-discussed, factor in contemporary agrarian transformations.
• An interconnected approach is essential for understanding complex agrarian changes involving cross-border labor and land dynamics.
• The study highlights the interdependence of social classes and economic processes across China and Myanmar.