Social insurance participation and urban settlement intentions of China's floating population

Abstract

Abstract Since the expansion of social insurance to migrants and the abolition of unequal regulations and controls related to the rural–urban migrants in recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the determinants of migrants' settlement intentions. Using the 2016 National Floating Population Dynamics Monitoring Survey (NFPDMS), this study examines the associations between migrants' urban social welfare participation and their settlement intentions, including long‐term settlement intention and transfer of one's hukou status. Results from logistic regression show that participation in urban social welfare schemes increases migrants' intention to have a long‐term residence in the city and to convert to urban hukou. Results also suggest that the impact of social insurance coverage on long‐term settlement intention as well as urban hukou intention increases as migrants spend more time in the destination city. Our study highlights the salient role of urban welfare coverage as a strong determinant of migrant workers' settlement intentions in urban China.