Правительство Российской Федерации
Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение
высшего профессионального образования
«Национальный исследовательский университет
«Высшая школа экономики»
Факультет философии
Отделение востоковедения
ВЫПУСКНАЯ КВАЛИФИКАЦИОННАЯ РАБОТА
На тему «Система "Хукоу", как важный показатель легитимности
государства в КНР (1980-2012)»
Студент группы № МА2
Сушкова Е.А.
Руководитель ВКР
PhD Королев А.Н.
Консультант
Доцент ВШЭ Карпов М.В.
Москва, 2014
Government of the Russian Federation
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Faculty of Philosophy, School of Asian Studies
MASTER’S THESIS
China’s Hukou system as an important determinant of state
legitimacy (1980-2012)
Written by:
Elena Sushkova
Group MA-1
Supervisor:
PhD, Political Science
Professor A. Korolev
Reviewer:
HSE docent, Candidate in History
Karpov M.V.
Moscow, 2014
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .................................................. 10
INTERNAL MIGRATION CONTROL .............................................................. 10
INTERNAL MIGRATION CONTROL: ECONOMIC FACTORS AND STATE
POLICIES ............................................................................................................ 18
CHAPTER 2. HUKOU SYSTEM AS A DETERMINANT OF STATE
LEGITIMACY ........................................................................................................ 20
LEGITIMACY AND ITS CONSTITUENTS. CHINESE CASE ....................... 20
HUKOU. IMPORTANCE OF THE HOUSEHOLD REGISTRATION ............ 24
What is hukou?.................................................................................................. 24
What the hukou defines? ................................................................................... 26
Hukou. Importance of the household registration. ........................................... 26
CHAPTER 3. HUKOU SYSTEM REFORM: THE STRUCTURAL AND
INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE ................................................................................. 28
THE EVOLUTION OF HUKOU POLICIES AND INTERNAL MIGRATION
IN CHINA. ........................................................................................................... 28
PERIOD 1 (1949 – 1977). THE ERA OF PLANNED ECONOMY .................. 29
PERIOD 2 (1978 – 2001). THE ERA OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ................. 30
Reforms (1980 – 2001) ........................................................................................ 34
PERIOD 3 (2001 – NOWADAYS). THE ERA OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES
.............................................................................................................................. 39
Reforms (2001 – 2012) ........................................................................................ 42
CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 49
Bibiliography ........................................................................................................... 51
Appendix 1 .............................................................................................................. 58
Appendix 2 .............................................................................................................. 60
Appendix 3 .............................................................................................................. 63
Appendix 4 .............................................................................................................. 65
3
INTRODUCTION
Since the 1980s rapid economic development of the People’s Republic of
China stimulated several important processes in the country development. A few to
mention are privatization, decentralization of state control, reduction of tariffs and
trade barriers, etc. Even though the economic reforms led to the prosperity for
many Chinese citizens and the poverty level dropped sharply, new serious social
issues emerged, posing a threat to the present Chinese government.
First, internal migration has increased rapidly, reaching more than 200
million (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2011) in urban areas in 2000s. The
growth of the “floating population” is becoming important for various reasons.
Cities experience sharp demand for the cheap labour force that cannot be
compensated by urban residents solely. Government tries to solve the problem of
reorientation of the economy towards domestic consumption and attract new
migrant consumers. Local municipalities are interested in cheap rural land for a
hukou exchange and on the other hand try to attract talented graduates and skilled
workers to the cities, etc.
Second, inequality has emerged in both cities and rural areas, undermining
social and political stability. Everyone in China is obliged to have a permanent
residence and cannot easily change it. Due to the household registration system
(created in 1958 to control peoples’ movement), most of the poor rural population
were not able to move to the cities to get a better-paid job. On the other hand, those
who moved, migrants, lack the access to social benefits and public services that
urban citizens are entitled to receive. Thus, inequality has also become a major
concern of post-reform period.
Changes in the city household registration policy have recently stroke major
big cities in China. Hukou policy reforms in Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai and
Chengdu are showing the consistent trend of easing the access for migrants to the
cities. Moreover, the increase in scale and power of migrant population is starting
4
to influence government actions, thus the capability of the government to manage
population flow is becoming one of the important indicators of state efficiency.
Nowadays, as every person in China is a subject of government migration
and population control, hukou system becomes an essential lever in government
hands to:

control unwanted internal migration (e.g. by giving quotas in
middle-size cities instead of Beijing, Shanghai, etc.)

control urbanization (preventing creation of urban slums and
rising discontent)

acquire more regime supporters by satisfying the needs of
interest groups (e.g. companies, seeking employees, city residents,
migrants,etc.)

introduce structural changes in the society to cope with rising
inequality and other social issues
The facts mentioned above show growing importance of the hukou system
within the context of government legitimacy in PRC. In this research I claim that
hukou system is no longer just a mechanism of registration, but also a structural
mechanism used for expressing government economical and political will.
The object of this paper is government policy in the sphere of internal
migration. The subject of this paper is China’s hukou system and hukou policy as
one of the determinants of state legitimacy.
The hypothesis is the following: Hukou system plays an important role in
managing internal migration and its effectiveness is essential for Chinese
government to sustain its legitimacy.
There are two types of primary sources used in this research paper:
statistics and official documents. Main statistical source is National Bureau of
Statistics of China; its data was used for research on the hukou system
development, annual migrant population growth, etc. As for the official
5
documents, most of them were taken from the website of the State Council of
China. These documents include official changes in hukou system in various years,
as well as recent notices on the hukou system reform. Apart from these two types
of sources, some local bureaus of Social Security and municipalities’ official
websites were analyzed.
Secondary sources used for carrying out this research can be divided into
several groups: books, scholarly articles, international organizations’ reports and
newspaper articles. The topic of migration and related hukou policies is deeply
researched by a wide range of profound scholars and organizations. Lida Fan (Fan,
L., 2011) has explored the correlations between migration regulations, social
welfare and industry strategies, trying to find migration determinants and better
understand hukou policies on various administrative levels. Jianfa Shen (Shen, J.,
2011, 2013)and Kam Wing Chan (Chan, K.W., 1999, 2008) have made a great
contribution to the population and migration studies in China. Shen has analyzed
the development of hukou system according to the factors that influenced it:
institutional drive and the development of market-driven economy. Kam Wing
Chan in his works has explained the development of hukou system step-by-step,
outlining the changes in the urban and rural hukou policies as well as various
forms of temporary and permanent residential permits.
Apart from the outstanding scholarly findings major contributions to the
field were made by researches and reports of the international organizations, such
as International Labour Organization (Li, S., 2008; ILO, 2013), The European
Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR, 2012), European Comission’s Directorate
General for Economic and Financial Affairs (Melander, A., Pelikanova, K., 2013)
and J.P. Morgan (Ulrich, J., Hoosain, A. and Zou, L., 2012) . For instance, J.P.
Morgan has carried out a profound research on urbanization, hukou reform and
investment implications, and International Labour Organization issued a paper on
policy responses in China, further developing the topic of migration as an
important process in the broader context of state developmental strategy.
6
In my research I use qualitative methods. Large part of my work is a
historical analysis and periodization, but I also use content analysis and
deduction methods.
The main aim of this paper is to analyze the hukou system and the
significance of hukou reforms for government legitimacy as well as to track how
the government uses hukou system to sustain the current regime.
The more detailed tasks of this research include the following:
1.
To analyze hukou sytem
a.
To outline the concept of hukou and in which way it
determines a life of every Chinese citizen
b.
To analyze the structure of hukou system and the
processes within it.
c.
To outline the process of hukou system evolution in
China (1958-nowadays)
2.
To explain the concept of legitimacy and analyze the specifics
of legitimacy in China
3.
To analyze how Chinese government is using hukou system to
sustain the legitimacy of current regime.
a.
To analyze what major changes have been implemented
within hukou system since 1980 until 2012 and why;
b.
To evaluate the economic and political reasons for the
hukou reforms (1980-2012)
c.
To conduct a research on current issues in hukou policy
and the correlation with emerging social issues, such as inequality and
political instability. Outline contribution (or impediments) of hukou
system to the development of modern socialist society in PRC (2005
and later)
4.
To define the role of the hukou system in economy and society
7
a.
To
show
(experimentally
and
analytically,
using
examples and methods) how changes in hukou system reflect
government need to sustain legitimacy
b.
To outline significance of hukou reforms for the
government legitimacy (sustaining political stability, maintaining the
current regime, satisfying interest groups, etc.)
c.
To outline what changes hukou policy brings on a various
administrative levels
d.
To analyze and emphasize how hukou management can
contribute to strategic development and implementing government
goals
e.
To analyze the future all-country Hukou reform as a
challenge for the state in PRC and outline possible outcomes of the
reform for the Chinese state and society
The structure of my work is the following:
In the first chapter, I am going to introduce major theories in migration and
population control. I am emphasizing those theories that showed a relation between
economy, government policies and movement of population. I start my analysis
from the first theories on internal migration and finish with the contemporary
theories in the field of population and migration studies.
In the second chapter, I am going to outline the concept of legitimacy and
specific characteristics of legitimacy in China. I am assuming that institutions play
a major role in the development of the state in China, and therefore institutions’
failures put a major threat to the government legitimacy, undermining the
capabilities of the state to govern. I also assume that hukou system is one of these
institutions as it defines population flows, and has a direct impact on the economy
and society. I also give a short explanation of what hukou and hukou system is.
8
In the third chapter, I provide a detailed analysis of the hukou system, its
evolution and reforms. I divided the evolution of the system into three periods, and
I have outlined major reforms and changes starting from the 1980s. I evaluate
economic and political reaons for the hukou reforms as well as their significance
for the effective governance in China.
9
CHAPTER1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
INTERNAL MIGRATION CONTROL
In this chapter, in order to understand and analyze the hukou system of
China and its effect on the social development, as well as highlight the role of the
government population control policies, I am going to present and analyze major
migration theories. I am concentrating on the theories that deal with internal
migration, rather than the processes of international migration.
Each migration theory from one of the angles discusses why the migration
(internal) occurs, how the process unravels and whether it is controlled or not (and
to which extent). As my analysis mostly concentrates on the hukou system (which
is a system of government control of population flows), I am going to pay more
attention to the part of migration theory which discusses whether government
should intervene into migration processes and if yes, then how.
Moreover, there is one more fact that I cannot avoid before I start discussing
theories. Many theories discuss international and internal migration in developed
states, but only few of them stop at the migration processes in developing
countries, and especially in non-democratic countries (such as PRC). This factor
will become of vital importance, when we start talking about the relation between
the migration control system and legitimacy.
Nowadays, even though most scholars of migration studies are researching
international migration, the internal migration theories and models are becoming
more and more important. According to the report by the International
Organization for Migration, the internal migration in developing countries, such as
India and China as well as urbanization in different parts of the world is increasing
significantly: in China solely internal migration crossed the border of 120 million
people, whereas international (from and to China) migration is only a small
fraction of this (King, R., Skeldon, R. and Vullnetari, J., 2008).
10
There exist a large number of theories and models on internal migration, for
example, the very first theories of migration were based on the observation of the
migration flows within countries. In the 1880s Ernest George Ravenstein has
established the theory of migration. Based on the observations and the data
collected from the surveys within the UK, Ravenstein outline seven laws of
migration, which still form the basis for modern migration theory. In these laws, he
attempted to explain and predict migration patterns, analyze the processes of
absorption and dispersion as well as how they influence the migration. For
example, Ravenstein found out and formulated his laws of migration that
“migrants proceeding long distances generally go by preference to one of the great
centers of commerce or industry” [19, p.169] and “The natives of towns are less
migratory than than those of the rural part of the country” [19, p.170]. Despite the
critical attitude from the scientific society to Ravenstein’s theory, his laws still
remain the starting point for work in migration theory. One of the most important
findings of Ravenstein for contemporary migration studies is his research on what
is causing migration. He claims, the political, legal, social and economic factors
can cause migration, but the most important still stays the persons (households)
desire for a better material condition1.
One more theory, explaining migration using the concepts of distance, was
Zipf’s inverse distance law. According to George Zipf, the volume of migrants
decreases with distance from the origin, since the effort and cost required to cover
greater distances would increase with the distance traveled. The concept of
distance was also important in the gravity theory of migration, which estimated the
traffic flow or the migration between two areas. This is another theory that
emphasizes distance rather than reasons or opportunities for migration.
On the contrary, Samuel Stouffer continued developing migration theory
from a different angle: he paid more attention to why people migrate and less to
“Bad or oppressive laws, heavy taxation, an unattractive climate, uncongenial social surroundings, and even
compulsion (slave trade, transportation), all have produced and are still producing currents of migration, but none of
these currents can compare in volume with that which arises from the desire inherent in most men to ‘better’
themselves in material respects” [20, p.246]
1
11
how they do it. According to Stouffer’s theory of intervening opportunities, which
he published in 1940 [27, p. 846], “there is no necessary relationship between
mobility and distance”. Instead, his research proposed that “the number of persons
going a given distance is directly proportional to the number of opportunities at
that distance and inversely proportional to the number of intervening
opportunities”. Stouffler emphasized the importance of the relation between
mobility and opportunities in his studies rather than explaining the relation
between mobility and distance. He argued that the volume of migration had more
to do with the opportunities in each location, than with the distance and population.
Migration is an interdisciplinary field that includes history, law, economics
and other parts of social sciences. By studying and analyzing migration we do not
only answer the questions why people migrate and how, but also what
consequences and results migration brings to the countries and their governments,
how can we measure them and what can be achieved through the control over
population. The first to analyze costs and benefits of migration was Larry A.
Sjaastad. In his paper “The costs and returns of human migration” he states that
many researchers paid attention to the forces that affect migration patterns, but
little was done to analyze migration as an “equilibrating mechanism in a changing
economy” [25, p.91]. Sjaastad claims the importance of viewing migration in a
broader context; introduces the concept of human capital and emphasizes viewing
of “migration, training and experience as investments in the human agent”[25,
p.85]. He also sees migration as an efficient resource allocation system, which can
be used both for the needs of the state and economy; as well as an investment
increasing the productivity of human resources. Moreover, Sjaastad analyzes both
public and private returns of migration, opportunity costs and “psychic” (or nonmoney) costs of migration, as well as relationship between migration and income
or earnings in a particular area. His contribution into the theory of migration also
includes the research on benefits of migration for migrants themselves, such as
efficiency in consumption, the satisfaction derived from local preferences and
12
other private non-money returns. These factors could also be found in the latter
push-and-pull theory of migration, and are very important for analyzing the
migrant situation and various stimulus in contemporary China.
Dr. Julian Wolpert, professor at Princeton University, in 1965 issued an
article on the “Behavioural aspects of the decision to migrate”. This paper opened
a behavioral approach to migration and migrants’ decision-making. Wolpert
argued that the theory of gravity, as well as the wage theory of economic
determinism are losing the explanatory power and cannot predict approximate
migration flows. The objectives of Wolpert’s paper were to demonstrate “the
potential usefulness of the migration differential approach”[32,p.160] (i.e. the
interdependence of categories of occupation, income, race, age and other factors in
migration behavior), as well as to provide an exact predictive tool, which uses
behavioral parameters of the migrants. This approach added a new perspective on
the additional influential factors in the migration studies.
The next theory that attempted to explain the process of migration was the
Lee model of “push-and-pull” factors. In 1966 Everett Lee published a paper “A
theory of Migration” (Lee, 1966). The aim of this work was to construct a set of
hypotheses within a general framework, to deepen the theoretical structure of
migration studies and to “develop a general schema into which a variety of spatial
movements can be placed”[14, p.48]. Everett Lee was one of the first to give a
definition of migration, explain what every act of migration includes, and outline
the factors which enter into the decision to migrate and the process of migration.
He divided factors causing migration into “push” factors, which cause migrant to
live the place of residence, and “pull” factors, that attract migrants to a new place
(see appendix 1 for the Chart1: origin and destination factors and intervening
obstacles in migration). Even though his “push-and-pull factors” model in general
has little relevance to the research below (on hukou system and legitimacy), I
would like to outline several major findings of Everett Lee in migration studies that
13
are crucially important for understanding migration and its consequences for the
Chinese economy and society.
Lee stated that most previous studies in migration theory have dealt with
various relations between migration and distance, and concentrated on developing
mathematical formulations of the relationship. He added that few studies have
considered such important issues as the reasons for migration or the reasons for
assimilation of the migrant at destination. Why is this important for the research
on the system of population control? Migration, taken as a complex field of studies,
deals not only with the movement of the people itself, but also with all kinds of
prerequisites and consequences of this movement. Thus, by posing a question
about the reasons for migration and assimilation, Everett Lee opened a totally new
page in the migration studies: he started to develop an area of the interrelation
between migration and business cycles, migration and legal structure, migration
and the progress of the state, etc.
Let us take a closer look at the Lee’s theory of migration.
The first major finding, that is highly relevant for the research below, is
related to the diversity of the area and the people. According to Lee, “a high degree
of diversity among areas should result in high levels of migration”[14, p.52].
Which means, for example, that the more income disparity in country is (triggered
by industrialization or other factors), the more stimulus the migrants have (to make
their decision to move). In both developed and developing countries the
differences between agricultural and urban areas is becoming more evident. New
opportunities arise in the centers of absorption, which makes peoples’
dissatisfaction with their current place of living higher than usual. Increasing
technology and communication also makes the migration easier. Lee states, that the
phenomenon of increased migration is even more likely to happen in a dynamic
economy, where these new opportunities are continually created. By the diversity
of people, Everett Lee means not only ethnic or racial differences, but also (and
what is more important for a Chinese case) the difference in social statuses, when
14
due to educational background or financial situation some groups are elevated
above others. By the diversity of people, Everett Lee also means that people have
different abilities in overcoming obstacles when migrating and differ from each
other personally. Like in a behavioristic approach, Lee stresses out several factors
related to the attitude of the migrant. He argues, “It is not so much the actual
factors at origin and destination as the perception of these factors which results in
migration”. Moreover, he emphasizes the role of personality in migration, stating
that some people are more willing to migrate, while others are very reluctant in any
conditions given. For example, highly educated people, as well as professional
managers are highly mobile, often because they receive better offers and migration
brings advancement.
Secondly, Lee emphasizes the relation between economy and migration, or
to be more exact between fluctuations in the economy (i.e. business cycles) and the
volume of migration. According to the theory, changes in the economy affect the
comparison of positive and negative factors for migrant both at the place of living
and destination point. Which means, that during economic boost opportunities and
positive factors at the destination point are heightened, bringing in turn more and
more migrant waves. Therefore, the relation between migration and economy
would be very important for the study below on the hukou system, as one of the
goals for reforming the hukou system in China is regaining consumption force of
the new migrants in economically developed areas.
Moreover, Lee states “the volume and rate of migration vary with the state
of progress in a country or area”, which means that in economically progressive
country the population is going to be more mobile than in underdeveloped or
developing countries. As the development of the economy usually brings industrial
and technological development, improvements in educational and political design,
it also stimulates migration flows within the country by diminution of the
intervening obstacles for migration. However, Lee describes one important
paradox in his research (which may as well be important for studies on Chinese
15
city migrants). When people migrate from rural areas to the cities, this movement
can lower the quality of population in the cities, as the education of migrants from
rural areas is less than the one of city residents (even though usually migrants are
better educated than their rural residents at the original place of living).
Lee’s research has brought several important findings to the studies of
migration. He outlined and explained three reasons under which the migration
volume tends to increase – increasing diversity of areas, increasing diversity of
people and the diminution of intervening obstacles. He deepened the theoretical
structure of migration studies and explained the relation between migration and
other processes. During the time of his studies, internal migration started to be
widely recognized as an important factor in social and economic development of
the country, which in turn stimulated further research on it.
Some of the scientists have developed Lee’s theory of migration in their own
research. In 1971 Zelinsky, having analyzed the previous research on migration,
created a “hypothesis of the mobility transition” (Zelinsky, 1971). Zelinsky has
developed further Ravenstein’s laws and Lee’s hypotheses and argued that
migration is an essential component of the modernization process 2. He also created
the Demographic Transition Model, where he states that the type and volume of
migration depends on how developed the state is.
New economic theory opened the set of theories studying the interrelation of
the population movement and the economy. These theories are important for
analyzing hukou policies in China, as before 2005 they were mainly triggered by
economic reforms and the increased demand for rural labourers in the coastal areas.
The Todaro model (also called Harris-Todaro model (Harris, J.R. & Todaro,
M.P., 1970)), developed in 1970, states that expected income differentials play a
major role in the persons decision to move. The model assumes that inequality gap
can be a major drive for the rural-urban migration (this model was used to explain
«There are definite, patterned regularities in the growth of personal mobility through space-time during recent
history, and these regularities comprise an essential component of the modernization process” [34, p.221]
2
16
internal migration in China). According to the Todaro model, migration is a
primarily economic decision as people rationally compare the expected value of
potential wages to current wages and make the decision to migrate or not.
Todaro’s findings are rather important to the understanding of rural-to-urban
migration in China and the way to control it. Apart from the government policies
(such as hukou system), migration is heavily influenced by economical processes
within the country. In addition, as Todaro mentions, several factors regarding
migration should be known when taking measures to control it. Migration in the
urban areas will increase if the expected urban income is increasing, and
agricultural productivity decreases (decreasing the expected rural income).
Additionally, when migration rates exceed job creation rates in the cities, this
stimulates the informal sector growth (where people who could not find the job end
up).
Michael Todaro is one of the scientists who researched migration and other
social and economic processes not only in the developed, but also in the
developing countries. He is famous for taking a policy-oriented approach to the
economic development, stating that the problems of development and
underdevelopment (and migration is one of them) should be treated from an
institutional and structural (noneconomic) as well as an economic perspective. He
considers many economic, social and institutional problems in developing
countries as closely interrelated and requiring simultaneous and coordinated
approaches to their solution both from the side of the government and major
financial and economic structures. His approach is very relevant to the hukou case
of this research, as the reform of the hukou system in China is a major step towards
sustainable economic development, and it involves not only the major problem of
internal migration, but also other developmental problems, such as inequality,
unemployment, population growth, population aging, poverty, etc.
Oded Stark has developed further Todaro’s model in 1985 (Stark, O. &
Bloom, D.E., 1985). He claimed that migration is more than the optimizing
17
behavior of migrants. He later developed this idea, stating that migration is
prompted by a desire to avoid “social humiliation” [26, p. 176]. Stark has also
introduced the economics of labor migration and has carried out a profound
research on LDCs (Late developing countries).
Main idea of the Stark’s theory can be summarized in the following
statements:

Wider social entities and interactions can condition migration
behavior

Public policy is one of the key behavioral parameters related to
migration

Migration is a “calculated strategy” of a household rather than
act of desperation or boundless optimism

Migrants often outperform the native-born in the receiving
economy

Heavy reliance upon “network and kinship capital” is another
prominent characteristic of migrant behavior pattern; new migrants are
assisted by those who have migrated earlier

There is a high relation between aging and migration: aggregate
migration of the population is influenced by its age distribution and the
underlying basis for this relationship (thus is important for public policies
which will provide incentives to migrate)
INTERNAL MIGRATION CONTROL: ECONOMIC FACTORS AND
STATE POLICIES
Already in the classic migration theories we can see that migration is not
only a field of studies that pays attention to how and why people migrate. In
contemporary science migration is a much more interdisciplinary field that also
explains the costs and benefits of migration, which factors affect migration most,
how migration and economy, as well as migration and the state are related to each
18
other. One of the major field within migration studies is migration control, or
public policy in the sphere of internal migration.
Several studies recently have emphasized the importance of political science
in the study of migration policy, one of them is the research by P.Freeman and
Alan E. Kessler (Freeman, G. & Kessler, A., 2008). The authors argue that both
economics and political science should be used in the studies of migration policy.
From the economic side, the theories of labour market, empirical methods and
theoretical models all can contribute to the analysis of migration policies. As for
the political science, understanding of the role of states, institutions and interest
groups can also be combined into political economy approach to better understand
migration processes within the country. The political science dimension of this
research is very important for understanding the current hukou reform changes in
China. I will explain this below.
First, the state in any country is mainly pursuing national interest. Therefore,
migration policy can be seen as a lever between a realization of economic gains
and respect for liberal values. Moreover, state approach migration in terms of its
effect on national security and economic viability. In addition, while applying
migration policies, state has to take into consideration all of the interest groups
involved, as the negative influence on one of them can undermine state legitimacy.
If we take a case of China and migration control in China, there is only one
lever that can be effectively used by government: hukou system. If we take the
period from 1980s to 2000s, hukou system was mainly used for the economic gains
of the country. But after 2005, when the GDP started to stabilize and eventually
fall, the government had to use hukou system for other reasons, such as satisfying
interest groups and decreasing social tensions.
In my opinion, the theory of Freeman and Kessler seems to most closely
explain the processes of hukou evolution and reforms in China, therefore I am
going to base my analysis on this theory.
19
CHAPTER 2. HUKOU SYSTEM AS A DETERMINANT OF STATE
LEGITIMACY
In this chapter I am switching to the main analytical part of my research.
First, I am going to analyze the concept of legitimacy and its constituents, as well
as explain why legitimacy in China is different from other countries, especially
democratic ones. Second, I am going to simultaneously analyze hukou reforms,
migration pattern changes and state policies (related to internal migration,
urbanization and inequality) during the economic reform period (1978 – 2005).
Third, I am going to analyze the same structures and policies in the transition
period (2005 – 2012). And finally, I am going to compare these two periods and
explain how the status of hukou system has changed from 1978 to 2012 and the
way it has an effect on state legitimacy in China during this period, and especially
after 2005.
LEGITIMACY AND ITS CONSTITUENTS. CHINESE CASE
Legitimacy generally can be explained as a rightfulness of the state to
govern its people. According to Bruce Gilley, “a state is more legitimate the more
that it is treated by its citizens as rightfully holding and exercising political power”
[10, p. 501]. There exist two concepts of legitimacy: descriptive and normative.
The former concept emphasizes the role of people’s beliefs about political
authority and political obligations. According to this concept, legitimacy depends
on people’s expectations, perceptions and beliefs that the state authority has the
right to rule. The normative concept of political legitimacy is usually related to the
justification of authority. It explains that legitimacy justifies the exercise of
coercive power and creates an obligation to obey. That concept argues that
coercive power is necessary for the collective solution of certain problems for
people leaving in the same territory.
There are several principles (called “sources”) under which legitimacy
exists. First, “consent of those governed is a necessary condition for the legitimacy
of political authority” [6, p.2]. Second, political legitimacy depends on the
20
principle of utility (beneficial consequences and happiness of the citizens).And the
third principle is called “public reason” or “public approval”. It can be better
explained using Rawl’s quotation: “political power is legitimate only when it is
exercised in accordance with a constitution (written or unwritten) the essentials of
which all citizens, as reasonable and rational, can endorse in the light of their
common human reason” [21, p.41]. States that lack legitimacy try to sustain their
power by other means (such as military control), but that makes them vulnerable as
they eventually lose public support. On the other hand, states that invest in
effective governance and performance and possess the ability for self-correctness
can keep people’s support for a longer period. The government that follows the
principles of legitimacy creates an incentive for everyone to obey the directives of
a legitimate authority.
In order to analyze hukou system and the way it affect legitimacy, I am
going to first analyze what factors can determine legitimacy in general, or, in other
words, how we can measure legitimacy in the country. There are several
characteristics using which we can measure legitimacy, such as surveys of political
system support, crime levels, views of effectiveness of political institutions, etc.
However, the factors that affect people’s decision and attitude in non-democratic
countries are sometimes very different from the democratic ones. I will illustrate
this by an example.
According to the research on legitimacy measurements carried out by Bruce
Gilley (Gilley, B., 2006), China is ranked 13th in the world (meaning that
legitimacy is very high in China). But if we take other two countries out of the first
13 (Denmark – 1st place, USA – 8th place) and compare them all together, we can
see that important factors influencing legitimacy, such as government effectiveness
and political stability, scored differently for the developed and developing
countries, democratic and non-democratic regimes.
21
Picture 1. Political stability and government effectiveness for China,
Denmark and United States
(Source: World Bank Governance Indicators)
I am giving this example not to say that the government is not effective in
PRC, but to explain that legitimacy in China (as a non-democratic country) is
supported by different factors than in USA and Denmark. In China, where the
government is not chosen through the process of elections and people do not have
a freedom of speech (in a sense western democratic states have), there are other
ways to support the ruling government or express negative opinions. As Yuchao
Zhu states, “China’s pertinent governing policies are not designed to convince the
West that the regime enjoys political legitimacy, but to first and foremost convince
22
the Chinese people that the government is doing the right things and therefore has
the right to rule” [35, p.125].
In China government does not rely on the election procedures or
conventional democratic means to maintain its legitimacy. So what can CCP
government do to convince the people that their regime is righteous? First, Chinese
government relies on accomplishing concrete goals. It is no longer a revolutionary
regime, and its main aim is to satisfy public needs through economic performance
and higher level of service. Second, the government maintains its legitimacy
through policy alterations. When Hu Jiantao and Wen Jiabao came to power, they
pronounced people-centered approach to build a harmonious society. Therefore,
certain changes were implemented in government policies related to social
stratification, modernization and governance to convince Chinese people that
current government has the right to rule. Thus, the government in China does not
need to obtain legitimacy through democratic means; much more important threats
to legitimacy in China are governance failures and social uprisings that undermine
political stability.
As increased internal migration has been one of the major concerns for
Chinese government during the last decades, one of the major governance failure
in the foreseeable future can be the inability to effectively manage the population
according to political and economic needs. Therefore, Hukou system as a major
institution in controlling internal migration plays an essential role as one of the
determinants of state legitimacy in China.
In this research I assume that hukou system, as one of structural systems in
China is a major determinant of government legitimacy. Moreover, hukou system
encloses many interests groups, whose opinion is important for political stability,
economical development and state legitimacy in China.
Already at this time, Chinese government is facing a responsibility to satisfy
several distinctive interest groups with different demands. The increasing middle
23
class is actively insisting on the freedom of movement; first and second generation
of city migrants want to achieve their social and residential rights; and city
residents want their jobs, wages, health care to be protected.
I am going to analyze a series of hukou system reforms (1980-2012), groups
involved and changes within the hukou system to identify whether hukou system is
used not only for simple registration reasons, but also for economic and what is
more important political reasons, such as to sustain political stability, maintain the
current regime and satisfying the needs of interest groups. I will also try to predict
a future course of reforms.
In order to follow the chronological line, I am enclosing a table with major
political and economical events, CCP leaders and annual GDP from 1978 to 2014.
Please find the detailed explanation in Appendix 4 (1978-2014: State
characteristics)
HUKOU. IMPORTANCE OF THE HOUSEHOLD REGISTRATION
What is hukou?
Hukou (as translated from Chinese 户口, hùkǒu) is an abbreviation for a
longer term “households and population” (住户和人口, zhùhù hé rénkǒu). The
term itself has several meanings in mainland China, which I am going to list below:

officially registered permanent residence of the person in PRC
(also called 户籍，hùjí3)

a family registration record (also called 户口簿，hùkǒubù)

a household registration system itself
In this research, I am going to use the term “hukou” for its first meaning, as
a synonym of official household registration related to one person. The second
meaning will not be used in this work, but I will stress out that the record of
registration itself is issued per family in China (the household includes all
3
hùjí might also refer to the census register (the book containing records)
24
members of the family). Instead of the third meaning, I am going to use the term
“hukou system”, which means household registration system in PRC (introduced
in 1958)4.
After birth, each person in China is assigned with a hukou. It records
individual’s identity, including date of birth, name, gender, ethnicity, spouse and
other factors among which city of residence is the most important. The document
also includes the type of hukou (agricultural or non-agricultural)5.
Picture 2, 3. Example of “agricultural” hukou
4
5
For the further definitions please refer to Appendix 1: Terminology
For the pictures of Hukou please refer to Appendix 2: Hukou (photo)
25
What the hukou defines?
Hukou has two major status characteristics that define the life of every
individual in PRC: hukou “type” (户口类别，hùkǒu leìbié) and hukou “place” (
户口所在地，hùkǒu suǒzàidì)6. According to the hukou “type” people are divided
into agricultural and non-agricultural population, and according to the hukou
“place” people can be local residents and those who do not possess the local
hukou. The hukou “type” is inherited by children, therefore a child from a family
with the “agricultural” hukou cannot possess “non-agricultural” hukou at birth.
However, there is a possibility to change a hukou through the process of
nongzhuanfei (农转非，nóngzhuǎnfēi), when a person simultaneously changes the
place of hukou registration and the “type” of hukou (from agricultural to nonagricultural). A Chinese person would have to complete an application process and
receive approval from the region’s authorities. The authorities make a decision
based on evaluating applicant’s education, occupation, and work experience. The
process is not always smooth and might take up to several years.
There are also other ways of changing a person’s hukou status. It can usually
happen through marriage (if the spouse is from a different city), working abroad
(and getting a status of “foreign specialist”), purchasing an expensive property (or
investing large sum of money into local economy), becoming a specialist in highdemand industry, etc.
Hukou. Importance of the household registration.
The hukou brings certain benefits and disadvantages for its holder. First, let
us look at the privileges, that rural (agricultural) or urban (non-agricultural) hukou
has.
Rural hukou entitles the holder with the access to land. Depending on the
type of land possessed, the person can use construction land, farmland or
6
Please refer to Appendix 1: Terminology for the more detailed explanation
26
contracted forestland. Urban hukou, on the other hand brings the variety of social
entitlements, which usually includes pension, medical care, education and other
public services.
As for the disadvantages, they start when a rural resident tries to move to an
urban area, or when a person registered in one city or town moves to another place
in the country for a long-term stay. Living in a place without possessing the local
hukou brings up all the limitations of hukou system. For example, the rural migrant
living in a city can not use medical care (except for the very simple treatment), is
not allowed to take a loan for a car or mortgage for an apartment or any other
property. Usually, these people are also discriminated by the big companies, who
put a requirement to hire people with local hukou. Moreover, migrant children are
left out of both educational system and medical help. Children can only get public
education at the place of their registration, but when they get to the new city and
become non-locals, their only choice is private schools if their parents can afford it.
If not, then these children go to migrant schools, with a usually poor level of
education and professionalism. As for the medical help, both migrants and their
children eventually go into one of the many “migrant” clinics, the only place where
they can get help.
Of course, all these limitations are not relevant for people with enough
money, who can afford private schools, medical care, pay for the property in cash
or invest into the city economy and get a local hukou. But as the number of these
people is relatively small, compared to the total amount of migrants, this research
will not take the former (rich) citizens into consideration.
27
CHAPTER 3. HUKOU SYSTEM REFORM: THE STRUCTURAL AND
INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
THE EVOLUTION OF HUKOU POLICIES AND INTERNAL
MIGRATION IN CHINA.
Periods of classification:
Period 1 (1949 – 1977). The era of planned economy
Period 2 (1978 – 2000). The era of economic reforms
Period 3 (2001 – Nowadays). The era of structural changes
The evolution of hukou policies in China
The main aim of this paper is to analyze the the hukou system and the
significance of hukou reforms for government legitimacy as well as to track how
the government uses hukou system to sustain the current regime. The following
chapter tries to describe the process of hukou policies development in China and
analyze what major changes have been implemented within hukou system since
1958 until 2001 and why. Moreover, one of the main tasks of the periodical
analysis is also to understand how the changes in the hukou policy have influenced
internal migration and situation in the cities, as well as overall economic and
political development.
Periods of classification
In the following chapters the process of migration and government policy in
the sphere of migration are divided into different time periods (chronologically
from 1949 until nowadays). Main factors that influenced this division were major
changes in the general government policy of the PRC such as the change of the
political and economic course. Based on such changes, this research points out
three major periods:

The era of planned economy under Mao Zedong, including
several years after his death (1949-1978);
28

The Deng Xiaoping’s era of economic reforms (1978 – 2005);

The new economic and political era defined by major structural
changes in Chinese society (2005 and later).
The further descriptions of each period and major migration policies
implemented within this period are provided below.
PERIOD 1 (1949 – 1977). THE ERA OF PLANNED ECONOMY
The first period continues from the foundation of PRC in 1949 until the
reforms in 1978. This period is characterized by the following factors and
processes:

Established system, which can be characterized as “public-
ownership-cum-planned economy socialist model” [30, p.61]

Steady growth, per capita GDP has changed from 500$ to

In general, the level of economic development and average
1000$
income remained low (by the end of this period China was a poor country
with a per capita income 182$)

Almost everything was equally distributed: state provided
education and healthcare, as well as rationed food and clothes (by using
coupons, etc.)

Main goal of the government was to use limited surplus on the
development of key industries and social policy
Most of the migration during the period from 1949 to 1978 was planned
migration (controlled by the government). People were mainly sent from the more
developed eastern cities to new development areas, construction and agriculture
projects in Northeast, West and Southwest. As it was forced migration, some part
of the population was reluctant to be relocated to other areas. At that time main
goal of the government was to promote economic development in the inland
regions, therefore main migration directions were from the East to central and
29
western regions (main destinations included Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia,
Yunnan, Xinjiang and Hainan island). As for the scale of migration, it is better to
refer to Shen Jianfa who mentions that “according to estimation by Hu & Zhang
(1984), there were about 25 million net inter-provincial migrations in the period
1950-1979”[23, p.3].
In the beginning of the period there was no strict control over migration. But
as the speed of rural-to-urban migration exceeded the pace of the industrialization
in the country, government took abrupt measures to control the masses movement.
In 1958 nationwide hukou system was introduced. It was administered by the
Ministry of Public security and functioned as the main tool for controlling the
flows of population within the country (migration control and population
registration). Up until the late 1970s it was also one of the key tools for central
planning.
The hukou system divided people into two types: agricultural population and
non-agricultural population. The process of conversion from agricultural to nonagricultural type of hukou (called “Nongzhuanfei”) which defined rural-to-urban
migration was tightly controlled and it was almost impossible to change the type
and place of hukou. Those possessing the non-agricultural hukou were entitled to
certain rights, such as social welfare, housing, education, employment, etc.
PERIOD 2 (1978 – 2001). THE ERA OF ECONOMIC REFORMS
During this period China experienced a miraculous development, with the
average GDP growth of 9.6 percent and annual growth in international trade
reaching 16.3 percent; per capita income rose steadily from 1000$ to 4000$ [17,
p.47]. Planned economy evolved into a market economy, main goal shifted to
increasing private income and consumption, resulting in the new “get rich first”
policy, when people were trying to create wealth and acquire capital by all possible
means. Poverty was also significantly alleviated during this time: since the reform
period, more than 600 million people [15, p.12] have escaped poverty.
30
But with the economic growth, income inequality, also called the gap
between rich and poor, became one of the most visible indicators of Chinese
society development, and the social protection that characterized the previous
period of planned economy was almost fully destroyed (the problem of social
security emerged on a new level). As Mark Leonard states, “China has gone from
being one of the most equal countries in the world to a nation with a bigger gap
between rich and poor than the United States” [15, p.13]. In order to pursue high
speed of economic development, China in most of the cases ignored healthcare,
environmental protection, social justice, human rights, etc. As Xiao Bin argues: “In
particular, the environment has been damaged, the rights of workers (especially
migrant workers) have been neglected, and the three gaps (that is, between
different districts, between the cities and the villages, and between the rich and the
poor) have become wider and wider” [33, p.35].
Picture 4, Migration flows in China (1990-2005)
31
Source: Chan, K.W., 2008. “Internal Labor Migration in China: Trends,
Geographical Distribution and Policies,”
In order to foster economic development of the country a new coastal
development strategy was adopted in the 1980s. This strategy had an enormous
impact on migration trends, as rapid economic growth of the new developing areas
brought many opportunities for migrants from less developed areas. Due to the fast
economic development of special economic zones (1979), open coastal cities
(1984), open economic areas (1985), Pudong new district (1990) and other parts of
China after 1994, the directions of migration has changed (compared to the
previous period): migrants started to move from western and central regions to the
East. Top destinations with the largest temporary population included Guagdong,
Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Fujian and Liaoning (not to mention cities like
Beijing and Shanghai)
As many rural residents had little chance to find a decent job and earn a
living in the villages, they left their places of birth and moved to the big cities for
better job opportunities. However, due to the existing hukou system limitations
these peasants were put at a disadvantage in the cities to which they moved and
lacked any social rights as they did not possess the local hukou. The combination
of hukou identity and status regulations has contributed to the poor status of
migrants. According to Shen Jianfa “They are particularly vulnerable to
exploitation by employers but also find themselves outside the reach of social
safety nets provided to other workers because of their status as temporary
migrants” [25, p. 237]. Therefore, this created a precondition for all kind of
discriminations towards migrant workers, such as underpayment, poor working
conditions, absence of the contract, etc.
32
Picture 5, Migration flows in China (1995-2000)
Source: Chan, K.W., 2008. “Internal Labor Migration in China: Trends,
Geographical Distribution and Policies,”
Main factor that stimulated migration during this period was rapid economic
development that created many job opportunities in the cities and new economic
zones for people from undeveloped regions. Increasing gap in regional
development among eastern, central and western regions significantly influenced
inter-provincial migration in China. Even though institutional factor (changes and
reforms in the hukou system, mainly relaxation of the system) can be considered
influential at the beginning of the reforms, later it played a less obvious role in
forming migration trends and directions, as greater influence came from the side of
market-driven economy. However, the registration of the temporary population
that was introduced in 1985 has made the migration from rural areas to the urban
areas significantly easier. This reform open gates for many rural migrants and
33
stimulated the formation of temporary population in urban areas of the PRC.
Overall, the temporary population in China has increased from 6.1 million to 39.6
million in the period 1982-1990 (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2006).
According to the Population Census, “In 2000, urban areas in China had a
temporary population of 113.4 million, accounting for 78.6% of the total
temporary population” (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2002). After 2000
the temporary population who left their hukou registration places for more than
half a year was defined as usual residents in their destinations [23, p.5].
Reforms (1980 – 2001)
80s: general characteristic.
The main tendency of the 80s was a start of work migration, and especially
rural-to-urban migration, due to the rapid economic development and higher
salaries at the newly developed economic areas and big coastal cities. The hukou
system was gradually loosening during the whole period stimulating urbanization
and economic development.
1980
Starting from the year 1980, Ministry of public security in China
implemented a new policy of “nongzhuanfei”. There were cases of conversion
from rural to urban citizens before, but not on a large scale and all of them were
strictly controlled by the government. That year was a starting date for a massive
hukou reform program that continues for more than 30 years, up until now.
Also in 1980 first relaxation of the system within the “nongzhuanfei” reform
framework was introduced: spouses of professional and technical cadres moving to
the city could accompany their partners and receive government-provided ration.
This reform was issued by the Ministry of Public Security (公安部、粮食部、国
家人事局联合, 1980), and the main aim was to resolve the problem of family
separation and food rationing. However, the strict control over urban population
growth remained, as the cadres mentioned above should have constituted no more
34
than 2% of local non-agricultural hukou holders. This reform shows the first signs
of the economic needs of the country: government needed cadres in the cities to
boost economy, so they started to adjust hukou system to achieve these goals.
1984
Following the economic reforms, many cities in China became a much more
comfortable place to live. Certain peasants, who had a choice to go to the city,
already did not want to go back to the village as the life in the city gave more
rewards and profits. There has been more and more discussions about the old
registration system and incentives for the change. Finally, the government has also
realized that the system prevented the economy to use rural qualified and
unqualified labour in a most efficient way. Therefore, a new set of reforms was
introduced.
In 1984 the State Council has issued a new notice on farmers settling into
town (国务院, 1984). Those rural residents, who had a place of living in the cities
and an operating business, or those who were long-term employees of the
companies, were entitled by the Ministry of Public Security to receive a local
hukou, with the only difference that it was a self-rationing hukou. According to
this reform self-sustainable farmers could move their rations into the city. After
this reform more than 4 million people have attained a self-rationing hukou (中国
统计年鉴, 1984-1986). Moreover, from 1984 to 1988 this reform has provided to
the city non-agricultural population more than 46 million people (殷志静、郁奇虹
, 1996).
Here we can see that this reform is a response not only to the economical,
but also to the social situation. Without doubt government needed cheap labour to
boost further the economy of developing cities and economic areas, but the current
set of reform was also a response to the existing social process, as many of rural
residents desperately wanted to stay in the city and continue the life of a city
35
resident. Due to this reform, not only professional workers, but also ordinary rural
residents got the access to the city.
1989
Several years after the reform, Chinese governance was very close to the
structural failure. As all the food rationing (‘iron rice bowl”) in the cities was still
provided by the state, cities have received an increased pressure from the new
coming rural laborers. In 1989 State Council issued a notice on strict control of the
excessive growth of rural residents in the cities (国务院, 1989). This measure has
tightened the number of people allowed to move to the city and brought the
migration back under the strict control of central government. Certain number of
rural residents were forced to move back to the villages. This reform shows that at
that time Chines government was afraid of loosening city borders and letting the
population to freely settle in. Moreover, uncontrolled rural-to-urban migration was
not yet properly adjusted to the national economy development and needed
reconsideration. In my opinion, the government has pursued several goals while
carrying out this reform. First, it had to restrict migration in order to cut the
expenses of the state budget (for the food rationing). Second, it had to as much as
possible avoid the discontent of urban citizens and those who were already
securely dependent on the urban food rationing. Third, the hukou reform was a
newly-launched “project” which had to be within the state developmental goals.
Fourth, the economic reforms in the country have already increased inflation and
corruption, as well as triggered a set of social protests, therefore the government
had to strictly control any movement in order to prevent any further social
instability and movement of “dangerous social elements”.
90s: general characteristic
Starting from the 1990s Hukou has been gradually included into the agenda
of the national reforms, especially after the government has liberalized oil and
grain prices and rid out of food and oil stamps. Market economy stimulated
36
urbanization and vice versa, therefore the government has started to pay increased
attention to the structural changes of hukou system.
1992
Rapid national economic development still demanded new investments and
new labour. In 1992 a new series of hukou reforms was put into actions. In spring
Central government has introduced a new way of getting an urban hukou –
purchase. The practice of purchasing urban hukou has been tested before in a
Tianchang city (Anhui province) for more than 5 years and turned out to be very
successful (the city population has increased from more 1 thousand to over 30
thousand people). The new way of getting a hukou has solved two major
governance problems in the cities – lack of financial resources and lack of labour.
When a person purchased hukou, money went to the local government, thus
investing and stimulating local economy. Therefore, this way of “nongzhuanfei”
process has become quite popular all over China. In October same year the
Ministry of Public Security has issued a notice on the implementation of effective
urban household system. Directly after the notice, the new system of purchasing
hukou was implemented as a pilot project in the major provinces, such as
Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hubei, Shanxi, Shandong and others (“blue-stamp” hukou
program).
In 1992 only the country has sold urban hukou for more than 10 billion rmb.
The commercialization of hukou has allowed local governments to restructure
themselves and put more money into the development of the cities. Moreover, it
was a new level of mobility freedom (even if purchased for money). In my
opinion, at least on the initial stage this reform was a win-win solution for the
migration and city development problem.
1992 is a major turning point in the whole process of hukou system reforms,
as starting from 1992 hukou system reform has been gradually included into the
agenda of reforms. In 1992 the State council has developed further the hukou
37
reform, setting up a subcommittee to draft the household registration program. In
march 1992 National People’s Congress (NPC) submitted a proposal on hukou
system policy decision (全国人大, 1992). The proposal included suggestions to
restructure current household registration system, as it failed to control the
distribution and size of the labor force in the country as well as urban population.
The proposal by the National People’s Congress also announced to unify national
accounts, introduce a new household registration law system and stimulate
people’s freedom of movement before the end of the 20 th century. Major reform
objectives included introduction of a new unified account, cancellation of
“agricultural” and “non-agricultural” restrictions, implementation of equal social
treatment, etc. Main reform goal was to achieve citizens’ freedom of movement
and equality of identification. At the provincial level, most of the officials were
consistent for the cancellation of the dual household registration system and
supporting unified national resident accounts.
Unfortunately the reform took place only partially, and Chinese people are
still (as for 2014) waiting for the promised freedom of movement. Already this
attempt is showing us how deep hukou system is rooted in the Chinese society and
how many structural and institutional changes should be introduced to change it.
1993
In June 1993 a draft of the household registration system reform was
introduced. The main aim of this document was to promote a formation of the
Household Registration Law until the end of the century. The reform of the 1992
started to evolve into a series of changes in the cities all over China. The main
institutional changes from now on and until 2005-2008 happened on the provincial
and city level.
1997
After several years of pilot projects, in 1997 the State council has issued a
program “regarding the reform of household registration system in small towns”
38
( 国 务 院 , 1997), allowing certain rural hukou holders to obtain a permanent
residence in the city (if they were employed and met certain conditions).
2000
The reform of hukou system in small cities was further promoted in 2000,
when the State council has issued his opinion “regarding the promotion of healthy
development of small cities” ( 国 务 院 , 2000), when additional measures for
becoming a city resident were introduced.
Results of the reforms (1980-2000)
So why during the reforms of 1980s-2000s the freedom of movement hasn’t
been achieved? One of the reasons is that government itself is afraid to let masses
of Chinese to change their places of residents within the country, as it might
increase public discontent, create urban slums, and give even more power to local
government and businesses, which will stimulate personal gains and interests and
not strategic development. Moreover, during this period hukou system mainly
served the execution of industrialization strategy, therefore migration still
remained highly regulated. Any changes in hukou system during this period served
the central or local state interests and policies.
PERIOD 3 (2001 – NOWADAYS). THE ERA OF STRUCTURAL
CHANGES
The third period can be described as a “stage of moderate prosperity” [30,
p.63]. Since 2001 several improvements in the sphere of human security,
healthcare and other public goods were made (for example, a minimum income
scheme that was introduced in 2001, or healthcare system reform). Currently,
China is considered a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of over 5400$
(World Bank, 2012) in 2011. As there is no urgent demand for alleviating people
from poverty or feeding and clothing the population, the main goal of this period
has shifted towards the development of public goods and services as well as further
improvement of the Chinese society’s welfare level.
39
Another important direction of the Chinese development during this stage is
reorientation of the economy. As Xiao Bin states: “the challenge now is to make a
transition from an economic growth model that is oriented towards external
resources to one that is oriented towards internal resources, and from a market
economy that is government-led to one that is based on the rule of law.” [33, p.35]
The recent ILO report justifies Xiao Bin’s point of view: “GDP growth in China
decelerated from 8.9 per cent at the end of 2011 to 8.1 per cent in the first quarter
of 2012 and 7.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 due to falling external
demand and the unwinding of initial policy response measures to the global
financial crisis” [12, p.16]. Other goals for Chinese government include
reorientation towards social justice in internal policy and high-value-added
production for the domestic consumption instead of the export-dependent
economy.
Picture 6. China GDP 2004-2012
Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts
data files. Annual GDP Growth.
These changes in the society development resulted in certain government
policies. For instance, “in March 2011, the Chinese People’s Congress officially
announced the 12th Five Year Plan and made “changing the pattern of economic
40
growth to improve the livelihood of the people” the new pillar of China’s
economic and social policy.” [4,p.27]
Picture 7, Migration flows in China (2000-2005)
Source: Chan, K.W., 2008. “Internal Labor Migration in China: Trends,
Geographical Distribution and Policies,”
After 2001 migration trend is still continuing but with the slower pace.
According to Jianfa Shen “The growth rates of temporary population in the eastern
and western regions slowed down in 2000-2005. The growth rate of the central
region caught up the growth rate of the eastern region closely in this period” [23,
p.6]. Such provinces as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and Shandong
become top destinations for in-migration, whereas most of the migrants come from
still not enough developed Sichuan, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei and some other regions.
41
It is interesting that some provinces did not provide a lot of migrants and could not
establish a strong migration link with the eastern coastal regions (therefore not
every poor province is a donor of migrants). There is also another interesting
migration trend, as after 2008 many labour migrants started to migrate back to their
original place of residence. The main reason for this movement of population is
comparative price of living and working in coastal area and at home. As the
salaries in remote (and earlier underdeveloped) regions, such as Sichuan and
Hunan start to grow, the comparative benefits of working at home bring more
returnees back. This is also a future challenge for the government: how to
effectively manage hukou system to sustain a certain number of labor migrants in
the developed coastal region (as most of the factories located there rely on the
migrant labor forces).
However, temporary population expanded greatly to 109.0 million and 149.4
million in 2000 and 2005 respectively (National Bureau of Statistics of China,
2006). For example, as Mark Leonard mentions in his article, “only three million
of the 15 million people who work in Guangzhou every day are officially
registered inhabitants” [15, p.14].
Major changes in the migration policies are happening on a local, in most of
the cases city level. The examples of Shanghai, Guangdong, Chengdu and
Chongqing will be analyzed below.
Reforms (2001 – 2012)
The main tendency of the modern times is changes on the local level.
Recently, various local governments of municipalities have made it easier for
outstanding skilled or better educated migrants to get a local hukou (if they can
demonstrate regular income and regular place of living). The policies differ
between the cities in the following way: it is easier to get a hukou of a middle-level
city, than a metropolis like Shanghai or Beijing, but the social package and social
benefits will also be less attractive in small and middle-size cities.
42
2008
In October 2008, the Central Committee has published an act “regarding the
development of rural reform and other major issues” (中央, 2008). The main aim
of this act was to promote the reform of household registration system and relax
the conditions to settle in small and medium-size cities, therefore promoting
smooth transition of rural residents into urban residents.
2010
In the late 2000s, major large cities, such as Shanghai, Chongqing, etc. have
undertaken municipality-level hukou reforms. Shanghai and Guangdong
introduced a residence permit point-based system depending on various factors.
For Shanghai, the most important criteria were university degree, special skills or
investment capability; residence permit holders were entitled to apply for the local
hukou after 7 years of social insurance contributions. For Guangdong the reform
process was different: the new policy was aimed at reducing the gap between city
hukou holders and migrant workers, giving the latter a chance of settling in the
city. The main process of obtaining the hukou was called 七年入户 (“Seven years
entering the local hukou system”).
In Chengdu the reform favored owners of the local property as well as
university graduates. The distinctive feature of the reform in Chengdu is that it
allowed urban and rural hukou holders to have equal rights to public education.
Chengdu government announced in 2010 that its main aim was to unify rural and
urban hukou systems to let local migrants get either temporary or permanent
residence permit. The case of Chengdu is considered the most ambitious in terms
of the hukou policy changes and is often investigated by Chinese ministries to
analyze whether it can be replicated in other cities.
Another city, Chongqing, introduced several hukou reforms in 2010 in order
to turn more than 10 million (Ulrich J., Hoosain A., Zou L., 2012) rural hukou
43
holders into urban citizens by 2020. Due to this reform, farmers became eligible
for pension benefits, housing, employment, education and healthcare benefits in
exchange for residential and farming land rights as well as forest land. It was
reported, that by the end of 2011 3,2 million people have gained urban hukou
status (Ulrich J., Hoosain A., Zou L., 2012).
The main aim of this hukou experiment was to decrease the gap between
urban and rural development through the local reform of the hukou system and to
introduce a new land exchange scheme (when peasants were given access to
capital, but in exchange they had to give up owned or contracted land). Cui
Zhiyuan in his article “the Chongqing experiment: the way forward for China?”
describes Chongqing mainly as a model for development that could show the way
out of several economic and political problems for other cities and provinces.
The main essence of Chongqing “integration of rural and urban
development” lies in the following household registration reform: anyone who has
worked in the city for more than five years was allowed to change the household
registration from rural residence to urban residence. This local political step can be
defined as a positive trend in the local migration policy. It allows not only welleducated or rich people to get a hukou, but gives opportunity for all rural residents.
Moreover, this reform protects the most vulnerable group of migrants (rural-tourban migrants) and gives them new rights as city inhabitants. Even though this
step was only locally implemented, it is claimed that about two million [4, p.29]
farmers and their families benefited from it.
Even though the reform was quite successful, it has not fully relieved the
pressure of migrant workers and work migration in general. First, in many cases
this reform was an attempt to take back farmers land (for government and private
use). Second, it was still difficult for poor and uneducated people to obtain a city
residence permit, as the point system was mainly oriented towards wealthy and
educated people. And finally, as the reform was biased towards elite and not
44
towards the main moving migrant population, it has not solved the main question
of the dual status of Chinese citizens.
Results of the reforms (2001-Nowadays)
The period of reforms after 2001 has several major characteristics, according
to which the course of the reforms has shifted to a different direction.
Most of the reforms before 2001 were economic-related. The GDP was
increasing year by year, the government as well as state and private enterprises
needed the inflow of new migrants into the cities, and therefore many restrictions
for the migrants were relaxed or canceled. After 2005 the situation has changed:
the government policy has been shifted towards the development of harmonious
society (instead of rapid economic growth), GDP started to gradually decrease and
social tensions in the country became more common due to legitimacy crisis. In
addition, the hukou reform program started to appear on a 5-year plan agenda.
If we look at the course of the reforms after 2001 we will notice the
following distinctions from the previous period:

Most of the reforms happened on the municipal or
provincial level

The government acknowledged the problem of labor
migrants, therefore in several cities main goal of the reform was to
decrease inequality gap between city residents and migrant workers
(in terms of residence permit, education, healthcare, etc.)

Certain reforms were aimed at decreasing the gap
between urban and rural development (Chongqing). This is also a new
trend in hukou system reforms, as most of the earlier changes were
mainly related to the economic development of coastal cities and
special economic zones, but not the rural areas
45

Several local reforms gave opportunities for all rural
residents (instead of just educated or well-off ones) to get a city hukou
in exchange for their land rights.
According to the new developmental agenda, the tasks of the state have also
changed. Instead of economic development and export orientation, the state now is
mainly promoting reorientation of consumption and increased usage of internal
resources. Due to this, the government tries to reach new “Urban million” – first
and second generation of migrants living in the cities in order to make them the
new consumers. Moreover, the state is confronted with increased social instability
and has to tackle the prolem of inequality (rural-urban gap) and legitimacy. As
migrants are becoming a new voting and consuming force, migration management
(especially through the hukou system) is becoming vitally important for sustaining
government legitimacy. The main objectives here are to convert first and second
generation of migrants into loyal consumers, ease social unrest and provide social
benefits, wages and citizenship rights for the rising second generation of city
migrants.
Moreover, the migration pattern in the recent years has also changed. As the
rural hukou and access to land is becoming more and more valuable, many
migrants who used to work in the eastern coastal provinces are returning to their
villages and cities in the inland China. The aim of the government nowadays is not
only to keep and support migrants in the coastal areas, but also to develop the
inland cities and villages by giving certain incentives to returning and new-coming
migrants. As China stepped into the period of rapid urbanization and the amount of
people living in the cities is already higher than those living in the villages, one of
the major government concerns is also how to decrease the possibility of cityrelated problems. For example, traffic congestions, housing shortage, increasing
unemployment, increasing poverty and high crime rates. Hukou system is
considered to be one of the major instruments in tackling and controlling these
problems.
46
However, despite of the recent reforms, the free movement of people is still
not on the agenda or anywhere near its practical realization. The household
registration law is not fully published and put into practice yet, as well as the
division of Chinese society into two classes still exists. The main question for the
future government to solve would still be the expected freedom of movement
between the cities and rural areas.
In this research I assume that hukou system in China is a major determinant
of government legitimacy. I argue that changes in hukou system, especially in the
latest period (2012) reflect the government need to get public approval (of the
majority of population) and support of current political regime. If we restate the
main principles of political legitimacy, the main goals of hukou reform nowadays
are as stated below:

To reach population’s consent on the course of hukou
reforms. Nowadays, the government is not as almighty as it used to be
during maoist era. Chinese population has also changed – there are
more than 150 billionaires, the middle class has evolved during the
last decades, therefore government is more aware of possible public
discontent. Hukou system encloses many interest groups, whose
opinion is important for political stability, economical development
and state legitimacy in China. Chinese government is facing a
responsibility to satisfy these distinctive interest groups with different
demands. The increasing middle class is actively insisting on the
freedom of movement; first and second generation of city migrants
want to achieve their social and residential rights; and city residents
want their jobs, wages, health care to be protected.

The same refers to the principle of “utility”. Government
has to adjust hukou reforms the way it will be beneficial for all the
interest groups involved (bringing mutual benefitial consequences for
most of them)
47

And finally, the reforms should seem reasonable and
rational for the majority of population. These includes further
developing the freedom of movement, protecting citizens’ rights for
education, healthcare, pension as well as contributing to the city and
rural sustainable development.
48
CONCLUSION
This paper outlines the development of hukou policies in the PRC and
analyzes what role hukou system plays nowadays. It states, that up until 1978
hukou system was a tool of a command economy, serving the goal of controlling
the population movement. With the reforms of opening the hukou system started to
change and give more possibilities for migrant workers to stay in the city via using
temporary resident permits or getting an urban hukou through various point-based
systems. In recent times hukou reforms have descended to the local governments’
level: the paper illustrates the cases of Chongqing, Chengdu, Shanghai and
Guangdong, where various changes were implemented. In the end, the research
emphasizes the role of the hukou system in the development of the state as one the
main mechanism of the country’s reorientation towards domestic demand.
According to the analysis of 1980-2012 reforms, the hukou system proves its
role as an instrument to:
•
control unwanted internal migration (e.g. by giving quotas in middle-
size cities instead of Beijing, Shanghai, etc.)
•
control urbanization (preventing creation of urban slums and rising
discontent)
•
acquire more regime supporters by satisfying the needs of interest
groups (e.g. companies, seeking employees, city residents, migrants,etc.)
•
introduce structural changes in the society to cope with rising
inequality and other social issues
Hukou system has changed its role within different political periods, but it
has always served government goals and played as a key tool for migration control.
Nowadays, the question of reforming the hukou system is of vital importance for
current Chinese government to sustain its efficiency and legitimacy, as well as
guarantee stable political and economic development of the country.
49
However, the hukou reform so far has not created sufficient conditions for
free migration.
Even though the National People’s Congress has announced
achievement of free migration in less than 20 years, it still seems to be more a
theoretical prospect than a practical implementation. New measures and
restructures are needed to replace the old institutions with regard to migration
management due to economic and social demand. However, a replacement of old
institutions will cause political and social opposition from the existing interest
groups. The government has to simultaneously satisfy rising middle class, migrant
population and the elite. The only possible solution is to introduce a set of partial
reforms that may be able to win majority support each time. Since solving these
problems takes time, free migration in the Western sense seems a distant prospect.
50
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57
Appendix 1
Lee’s Theory of Migration
FACTORS IN THE ACT OF MIGRATION
The factors which enter into the decision to migrate and the process of
migration may be summarized under four headings, as follows:
1. Factors associated with the area of origin.
2. Factors associated with the area of destination.
3. Intervening obstacles.
4. Personal factors.
The first three of these are indicated schematically in Chart 1. In every area
there are countless factors which act to hold people within the area or attract
people to it, and there are others which tend to repel them. These are shown in the
diagram as + and - signs. There are others, shown as O's, to which people are
essentially indifferent. Some of these factors affect most people in much the same
way, while others affect different people in different ways. Thus a good climate is
attractive and a bad climate is repulsive to nearly everyone; but a good school
systen1 may be counted as a + by a parent with young children and a - by a
houseowner with no children because of the high real estate taxes engendered,
while an unmarried male without taxable property is indifferent to the situation.
58
Clearly the set of +'s and -'s at both origin and destination is differently
defined for every migrant or prospective migrant. Nevertheless, we may
distinguish classes of people who react in similar fashion to the same general sets
of factors at origin and destination. Indeed, since we can never specify the exact set
of factors which impels of prohibits migration for a given person, we can, in
general, only set forth a few which seem of special importance and note the general
or average reaction of a considerable group. Needless to say, the factors that hold
and attract or repel people are precisely understood neither by the social scientist
nor the persons directly affected. Like Bentham's calculus of pleasure and pain, the
calculus of +'s and -'s at origin and destination is always inexact. < … >
This conceptualization of migration as involving a set of factors at origin
and destination, a set of intervening obstacles, and a series of personal factors is a
simple one which may perhaps be accepted as self-evident. It is now argued that,
simple though this is, it provides a framework for much of what we know about
migration and indicates a number of fields for investigation. It is used below to
formulate a series of hypotheses about the volume of migration under varying
conditions, the development of stream and counterstream, and the characteristics of
migrants.
Source: Everett S. Lee (1966). A Theory of Migration. University of
Pennsylvania.
59
Appendix 2
Hukou (photo).
The hukou (document)
The picture of the person’s hukou, indicating the status of hukou
(agricultural):
60
The picture of the person’s hukou, indicating the status of hukou (nonagricultural):
The picture of the person’s hukou, containing additional information on sex,
birth date, etc.:
61
62
Appendix 3
Terminology.
The following migration terms are used in the text:
Hukou ( 户 口 , hùkǒu) – registered permanent residence, household
registration.
Hukou “type” (户口类别，hùkǒu leìbié) – hukou status, that defines socioeconomic eligibility. According to the hukou “type” people are divided into two
groups: ones who have agricultural hukou (rural residents) and ones who have nonagricultural hukou (mostly urban area residents). Agricultural and non-agricultural
hukou can also be called “rural” and “urban”
Hukou “place” (户口所在地，hùkǒu suǒzàidì) – hukou status, that defines
residential location. Each citizen can register at only one permanent location.
According to the hukou “place” people are divided into two groups: ones who
possess the local hukou and ones who do not possess the local hukou.
Nongzhuanfei ( 农 转 非 ， nóngzhuǎnfēi) – the process of conversion of
hukou status; it includes both changing the place of hukou registration and
changing the “type” of hukou – from agricultural to non-agricultural.
Hukou system – Household registration system in the Peoples Republic of
China that was introduced in 1958. Dewen Wang defines it as “the hukou system is
an institutional arrangement that divides the total population into rural and urban
sub-populations and puts a strict control on population migration between rural and
urban areas and across regions in the command economy”7. In this paper hukou
system is going to be analyzed as a main government tool for controlling internal
migration.
7
Wang, D. (2008). Rural-Urban Migration and Policy responses in China: Challenges and Options. Working Paper
No.15, ILO Asian Regional Programme on Governance of Labour Migration, Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific, International Labour Organization, p.16
63
“Floating population”/“temporary population”/ “temporary migrants” –
rural-to-urban migrants who do not possess a local hukou at the places of living.
Temporary population might be also defined as an “accumulated migrant
population over time 8 ”. In this paper the migrant group that will be mainly
analyzed is migrants with rural origin and an absence of local hukou.
Permanent migrants – migrants who are able to move to another city and
change their previous hukou to the hukou of the city (therefore they become
official citizens).
Shen J. “Increasing internal migration in China from 1985 to 2005: Institutional versus economic drivers”, Habitat
International 39 (2013), p. 1-7
8
64
Appendix 4
1978-2014: State characteristics
Year
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
Political Leader
(1976) Hua Guofeng Deng Xiaoping
Hua Guofeng
Deng Xiaoping
Hua Guofeng
Deng Xiaoping
28th Jul Hu Yaobang Deng Xiaoping
Hu Yaobang
Deng Xiaoping
Hu Yaobang
Deng Xiaoping
Hu Yaobang
Deng Xiaoping
Hu Yaobang
Deng Xiaoping
Hu Yaobang
Deng Xiaoping
Nation. Con. CPC Political program (Motto)
* 3rd pl. (11th)
Reform and opening up policy 改革开放
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
15th Jan Zhao Ziyang Deng Xiaoping
Zhao Ziyang
Deng Xiaoping
23rd Jul Jiang Zemin Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping
13th
Socialism with Ch. Characteristics
中国特色社会主义
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
Deng Xiaoping died
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
15th Nov Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
15th November Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
14th
Three Represents 三个代表
12th
"Three Represents" in constitution
Scientific Development concept 科学发展观
Harmonious Socialist Society 和谐社会
17th READ
11,7
7,6
7,8
5,2
9,1
10,9
15,2
13,5
8,8
11,6
11,3
4,1
3,8
9,2
15th
16th READ
GDP
"SDC" in constitution
18th READ
???
65
14,2
14
13,1
10,9
10
9,3
7,8
7,6
8,4
8,3
9,1
10
10,1
11,3
12,7
14,2
9,6
9,2
10,4
9,3
7,8
Economic development
Chinese economic reform started.
Reforms in agriculture (iron rice
bowl + household respons. sys.),
dual price system, private
businesses, price flexibility.
Foreign investment, SEZ.
Reforms continued. Less control
on private businesses and gov.
intervention. Start of privat-n.
Decentralization of state control,
(local firms gain share supported
by local gov-t), corruption, inflation, social protests.
Continued reforms and priv-n.
Economic development
Radical reforms carried out. Largescale privatization, private sector
surpassed the state sector in
share of GDP, reduction of tariffs,
trade barriers and regulations,
bank system reform, social
welfare system (Mao) dismantled,
inflation reduced, China joined
WTO. Rising discontent among
certain groups of population.
Continued economic
development, emergence
of serious social issues
More egalitarian and populist
policies. Subsidies and control
over health care sector, halt privatization, loose monetary policy,
property bubble. Significant
reduction of poverty, but (!)
increased inequality gap and
deterioration of environment,
structural and institutional probl.
LOOK 17th 18th and 5-year plans!!
Important Events
four modernizations
Xiaokang society (economic growth to provide prosperity)
private economy was a "needed complement to the socialist economy."
The primary stage of socialism (Deng)
Economy as a complement to State sector.
Tiananmen Square protest
Shanghai Stock Exchange reopened
Collapse of Soviet Union
Xiaokang society (revival), Capitalisits were allowed to join the party,
1- productive forces, 2- advanced culture, 3- interests of majority
more people that will not threaten the regime are allowed to
join CPC - governmental and more democratic party
1st July - Hong Kong (returns to China)
Economy as an important component
11 December - Joined WTO
Xiaokang society (2020 goal)
technoc. Style governance, less centr-zed pol. Structure
Domestic private sector exceeded 50% GPD, China surpassed Japan