ABSTRACT
Migration to cities for job opportunities is an important means of pursuing a better life in many developing countries. In China, self-initiated migration was strictly controlled by the government through the household registration system during the central planning era. As newcomers, migrants may find it difficult to secure decent jobs due to lack of knowledge about the local labour market. This chapter aims to fill the gap by examining migrants’ job-search methods, drawing on data from a retrospective survey in Shanghai which recorded information on migrants’ work experience from 2001 to 2005. The standard economic model of job-search typically assumes imperfect information for job-seekers and explains how individuals collect and use information about jobs to make rational decisions in an uncertain environment.
