China has achieved remarkable progress in poverty alleviation since the start of
the reforms. Calculated according to the official poverty line, rural poverty has
dropped dramatically from 30.7 per cent in 1978 to 2.8 per cent in 2004. Ruralurban
labour migration on an unprecedented scale played a vital role in rural income
growth, poverty reduction and economic development in sending places, as
numerous rural labourers responded to the rising income inequality by migrating to
the cities. Empirical evidence shows that while the vast rural to urban migration
does not significantly increase urban income poverty, labour market discrimination
and social exclusion expose rural migrants to many risks and vulnerabilities in the
cities, where the poor are becoming increasingly marginalized. Capacity building
for the poor, the adoption of an integrated labour market system that also takes
account of migrants, and the creation a of rural social security system are the three
important poverty alleviation options promoted by the government. Although
migration in China has unique institutional characteristics owing to the existence of
hokou system (Household Registration System), the experiences and lessons to be
drawn from considering migration as a development approach have important
implications for the shaping of appropriate developmental policies.