Overview

The aim of this project is to undertake a quantitative investigation of the extent of social inequalities determining the quality of life of economic migrants in China, emphasising the female disadvantage in migration and living conditions in the urban environment.In the last few decades, since moving towards a liberalised market economy, China has experienced unprecedented economic growth. But these developments have also triggered considerable population and environmental challenges in cities and urban areas, exacerbated by mass movement of economic migrants from rural areas. Recent trends in rural-urban flows show an emerging pattern of feminisation of migration in China, prompted by the availability of cheap labour and increasing demand for a female workforce in service sectors, construction sites, manufacturing industries and household service jobs in big cities. The vast majority of women who migrate from rural areas lack proper skills and education and end up in poorly paid menial jobs and forced labour in big cities. Their living conditions are usually constrained in big cities due to poor access to housing, health and education. Diversity in demographic and health behaviours within the migrant population has not been not systematically investigated. This is critical in China where the scale of rural-urban migration is substantial. Using micro data from three recent population surveys, this project investigates the socioeconomic and gender inequalities within different migrant groups and the associated impact on health behaviours and wellbeing.