Work

Formal and informal debt in China: Evidence from the 2014 hukou reform

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We investigate the impact of China’s 2014 hukou reform - a major change allowing migrants living in small and medium-sized cities of less than 5 million people to apply for urban residence - on formal and informal borrowing at a time of rapid economic transformation. We find that the hukou policy change has predominantly increased natives’ access to finance, especially through informal sources, and for investments in housing. We also find that the policy affects households differently according to education level, with more educated households borrowing more to capitalise on rising asset prices driven by the ‘additional’ urban population created by the policy.

Source: Figshare

Authors: LEI Xu (16776039), Massimiliano Tani (6307409), Yu Zhu (250261), Xin Wen (470639)

Language: English

Topic: China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, No poverty, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7081540376

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