Work

Homestead, Urban Homeownership and Long-Term Residence of Rural–Urban Migrants: Evidence from China

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study utilizes the push–pull framework to examine the impact of homestead and urban homeownership on Chinese migrants’ willingness to settle in urban areas in the long term, as well as the moderating role of local homeownership. The results show that homestead has a significant pushing effect on migrants’ long-term residence, whereas local homeownership has a significant pulling and positive moderating effect. In addition, we conducted multiple robustness tests to confirm the validity of our findings. Moreover, urban homeownership exerts significantly heterogeneous effects on long-term migration across different ages, income levels and regions. Also, migrants who own homesteads and housing are more inclined to relocate to urban areas within the same provinces rather than moving to major cities. Furthermore, we identified the mechanism that local homeownership promotes social integration, which, in turn, strengthens migrants’ long-term residence intentions in urban areas. This study enriches research on China’s land systems and urban migration and aims to shed light on enhancing existing migrant welfare, optimizing housing policies and facilitating urban integration.

Source: Land

DOI: 10.3390/land15010009

Authors: Yidong Wu, Yanbo Wu, Yalin Zhang, Zisheng Song

Institutions: Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Anhui University of Technology, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137