Return Migration in China: New Methods and Findings

Zai Liang, University at Albany, State University of New York and Queens College
Yingfeng Wu, Stony Brook University, State University of New York

The rise of migration in China has stimulated increasing research efforts in recent years. However, as an integral part of the migration process, return migration in China has received relatively scant attention. The issue is very important because return migration in many ways affects economic development in rural areas. This paper proposes a new way to study return migration in China. Relying on data from the 1995 China 1% Population Sample Survey, we develop a method to identify return migrants and active migrants (i.e. migrants who are still at place of destination). We have three objectives. First, we examine the characteristics of return migrant and active migrants. Second, we model the return migration decision and compare occupational choices for return migrants and non-migrants at the place of migrant origin. Finally, we test the hypothesis that return migrants are more likely to be involved in non-farm employment as compared to non-migrants.