Impacts of Internal Migration on Economic Growth and Urban Development in China

This paper assesses the impacts of China’s internal migration on its economic growth and urban development in the reform era. Reform of the household registration system (hukou system), a remnant of the prior planned economy, plays a vital role in China’s labor mobility and has largely contributed to its economic growth and urbanization. The unfinished hukou system reform and institutional barriers, however, still exclude rural migrants from enjoying equal employment opportunities, wage payment, social security coverage, and public services as urban residents, which challenges the healthy urban development and sustained economic growth in China.