So much has been written on China’s post-reform labour migration since the late
1980s, but there is a lack of thorough survey on such studies from both empirical and
theoretical perspectives. This paper surveys most recently published, specially large
sample survey-based, studies on China’s rural-to-urban labour migration. Apart from
discussing the recent trends in labour migration in China, including the size, the
spatial pattern and temporal dimension of migration, and the demographic and
economic characteristics of migrant labourers, which is important for understanding
the current situation, it focuses on research findings on policy effects on migrant
labourers’ behaviours in searching for jobs, choosing occupations, remitting moneys
and keeping family ties. This paper also reviews the studies on the consequences such
labour migration has brought about to the urban and rural economies, as well as to
migrant labourers themselves. It summarises and develops some hypothetical
relationships underlying these studies’ findings as research priorities for future
studies. Our survey shows that although Chinese migrant labourers have the same
characteristics as their counterparts in other developing countries, their behaviours,
as suggested by many studies, may have been significantly affected by institutional
factors, such as the hukou (household registration) system, rural household
responsibility system (HRS) and policy-induced labour market segmentation in cities.
Nevertheless, empirical evidences are needed for understanding the role of these
factors. Further research on the migration effect of these factors can help understand
utility-maximising migrant labourers’ behaviours in the Chinese context on the one
hand, and enrich the economic theory of migration on the other.