China’s floating population and its implications

Abstract

The rate of urbanization and its implications in post‐Mao China have been underestimated in most recent studies on China’s urbanization as they have excluded the rising urban floating population. Making use of recently available floating population survey data assesses the significance of China’s urban floating population and its socio‐economic consequences and suggests remedial measures to control its flow. Finds that the floating population caused China to experience one of the highest urban population growths among the developing countries. The floating population has increased rural‐urban labour mobility and helped to eliminate the dualistic nature of Chinese society. But it has also caused oveer‐urbanization and environmental pollution and created certain social problems. To control the flow of the urban floating population, argues that the government should increasingly rely on indirect market‐based control mechanisms.