Unpacking migrants' social integration: The mediating effect of hierarchical migration in the context of China

被引：2
作者：
Cui, Can [1 ,2 ,3 ]
Zhang, Yeling [1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ]
Mu, Xueying [5 ]
机构：
[1] East China Normal Univ, Ctr Modern Chinese City Studies, North Zhongshan Rd 3663, Shanghai 200062, Peoples R China
[2] East China Normal Univ, Res Ctr China Adm Div, North Zhongshan Rd 3663, Shanghai 200062, Peoples R China
[3] East China Normal Univ, Sch Geog Sci, North Zhongshan Rd 3663, Shanghai 200062, Peoples R China
[4] Changzhou Zhengxing Secondary Sch, 9 Houcao Rd, Changzhou 213000, Peoples R China
[5] South China Normal Univ, Sch Philosophy & Social Dev, 55 Zhongshan Rd, Guangzhou 510631, Peoples R China
来源：
HABITAT INTERNATIONAL | 2025年 / 158卷
基金：
中国国家自然科学基金;
关键词：
Migrants; Social integration; Hierarchical migration; China; URBAN HIERARCHY; MOBILITY; LIFE; NEIGHBORHOOD; DESTINATION; CITIZENSHIP; IMMIGRANTS; PATTERNS; ORIGIN; TIES;
D O I：
10.1016/j.habitatint.2025.103337
中图分类号：
F0 [经济学]; F1 [世界各国经济概况、经济史、经济地理]; C [社会科学总论];
学科分类号：
0201 ; 020105 ; 03 ; 0303 ;
摘要：
Internal migrants in China, similar to international immigrants, frequently confront barriers that hinder their integration into their destination cities. Improving the social integration of these migrants has become a central focus for both policy-makers and academia, forming an essential element of China's new urbanization strategy. Despite the mounting scholarly interest in this topic, existing studies primarily focus on examining the influence of individual characteristics and destination attributes on migrants' social integration, but often neglect migrants' diversifed migration patterns along the urban hierarchy, which may affect the degree of social integration achieved by migrants in their chosen destination. This study examines how migrants' demographic and socioeconomic attributes are associated with their hierarchical migration pattern and thereby affect their social integration based on the data from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey. The results reveal a nuanced association between hierarchical migration (the difference in city tiers between the place of origin and destination) and social integration, characterized by a distinct nonlinear, inverted "U" shape. Importantly, this study underscores the pivotal mediating role of hierarchical migration. Individuals with different characteristics (age, gender, married, higher educational attainment, Chinese Communist Party membership, and urban hukou) made different migration choices, resulting in varying levels of social integration. Specifically, migrants who are married and possess higher educational credentials tend to move to bigger cities, which would hinder their overall social integration. This study deepens our understanding of migrants' social integration by highlighting the pivotal role of hierarchical migration, which can be traced back to a significant imbalance of regional development.
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页数：10
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