What makes Chinese rural migrants self-employed
A qualitative perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13059585 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shuting Xia (0000-0001-8162-9553, University of Cambridge, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2022-11-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Chinese Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2198-2635 • E-ISSN: 2198-2635 |
| Publisher | Springer Nature (PUBLISHER • SG) |
| DOI | 10.1186/s40711-022-00175-0 |
| OpenAlex | W4308140468 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 23 |
This study scrutinizes the causes, configuration, and consequences of rural migrants’ motivations for becoming self-employed. It aims to solve two main problems in the current literature. The first is that previous studies primarily explain migrants’ self-employment through economic variables when other factors (e.g., autonomy, meaningfulness, and work environment) might be more important. Second, no study has been conducted to qualitatively understand migrants’ self-employment outcomes. By drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with rural-to-urban migrant workers conducted in four regions of China, this article provides insights into the pecuniary and nonpecuniary motivations of rural migrants’ employment decisions. Notably, it finds that most rural migrant workers in wage employment sectors are not in a position to exercise free choice regarding their working arrangements. In contrast, the prospect of achieving a higher level of income, greater autonomy, and more flexibility and freedom is important and attractive aspects of self-employment, with apparent gender differences. Nevertheless, migrants’ self-employment often involves self-sacrifice and economic and social marginalization. Therefore, it is unlikely that migrants select self-employment as an effective means for status acquisition
Autonomy · China · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Entrepreneurship · Flexibility (engineering · Labour economics · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Qualitative research · Rural area · Self-employment · Sociology · Wage · Work (physics · Employment and Welfare Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Psychology
The Origins and Social Consequences of China's Hukou System
Urbanization with Chinese Characteristics
Precarious lives, precarious labour
A Comparative Study of Permanent and Temporary Migration in China
Social Science Research
Women’s Entry into Self-employment in Urban China
Household registration, urban status attainment, and social stratification in China
Rural Migrants in Shanghai
Self-employment and intention of permanent urban settlement
Gender Inequalities in Employment and Wage-earning among Economic Migrants in Chinese Cities
Inequality and Equality under Chinese Socialism
Occupational segregation and earnings inequality
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |