Migrant Inflows and Online Expressions of Regional Prejudice in China

Bibliographic Data

ID6367183
AuthorsXi Wang (0000-0002-2434-2326, assistant professor in the School of Information at the Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China), Yang Zhang (0000-0001-6777-3487, assistant professor of political science at Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China), Shangguan Wang (undergraduate student in the Department of Business Analytics at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA), Kang Zhao (0000-0002-8321-2804, associate professor in the Department of Business Analytics at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA)
Year2021
Volume85
Issue1
Pages123-146
Publication date2021-08-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Opinion Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-362X • E-ISSN: 1537-5331
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/poq/nfab004
OpenAlexW3177327966
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited42

China started market-oriented reforms in the late 1970s, and a fundamental social change in post-reform China has been massive migration. The primary purpose of this research is to examine the effect of migrant inflows on online expressions of regional prejudice, which is defined as expressions of antipathy toward migrants. In particular, we examine the dynamics of expressions of regional prejudice on Weibo, a popular Twitter-like social media site in China. Furthermore, we explain online expressions of regional prejudice through the lens of the group-threat and contact theories, and seek potential conditions that facilitate the development of a positive relationship between local residents and migrants. Our findings lend strong support to the group-contact argument that migrant inflows reduce online expressions of regional prejudice in China. The contact effect is larger when migrant inflows are measured in terms of migrant labor and interprovince migrants, who represent China’s typical migrants. Furthermore, the contact effect is only observed in relatively small cities, while a small threat effect is observed in mega and super-mega cities where the population-control system is strictly maintained

Antipathy · Argument (complex analysis · China · Demographic economics · Economics · Political science · Politics · Population · Prejudice (legal term · Sociology · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Medicine · Psychology · Social Capital and Networks · Demography · Law · Social Psychology

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