Factors influencing the migration intentions of rural workers in the Pearl River Delta

The focus of this article is this question: under China's present household registration system, what factors influence migrant workers' decisions to obtain urban household registration in order to stay permanently in the city? Our research finds that if willingness to give up their land is used as the indicator for behavioral permanent migration, the main factors that influence migrant workers' intention to migrate will be their individual motives for migration, i.e. choices based on economic rationality. If wishing to transfer their household registration to the cities where they work is used as the indicator for institutional permanent migration, the main factors that influence their intentions will be regional conditions and the pressure of institutional legitimacy, and their choices will be socially rational in that they are seeking institutional protection to improve their life in the city. Groups with different aspirations vary in their individual motivations for migration and the degree to which they feel the pressure of institutional legitimacy.