Rural-urban migration in China: An analytical framework of migrants’ contributions to rural development

In contemporary China, rural-urban migration takes place at a considerable scale. Due to its scale, as well as the particular context in which migration happens, studying the case of China can reveal important lessons on how policies can be designed to enhance positive impacts of migration on source communities. Relying on a review of literature from the fields of sociology, geography and economics, an analytical framework of positive contributions of China’s internal migrants on the development of source communities, of the migration process itself and of the institutional, administrative and social contexts of migration is constructed. Interactions between these contexts on the one hand and the migration process and the associated contributions of migrants on the other hand are highlighted. The framework provides a guideline for approaching similar problems elsewhere and offers support in the identification and assessment of possible policy interventions.