ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the extent and character of temporary migration in comparison with permanent migration, and on the roles both temporary and permanent migration have played in China’s urbanization in the 1980s. The importance of migration as a component of rural and urban population change is attested to by the magnitude of the number of persons involved. Compounding the complexities of the role of permanent migration in urban growth and development is the simultaneous flow of temporary migrants into urban places. Although urbanization, migration and population distribution are topics of intense concern in much of the world, progress in understanding the dynamics of mobility has been hampered by poor conceptualization, misleading perspectives on the issues and data deficiencies. Chinese leaders are particularly concerned about the growth of the largest cities and have introduced various policies to control migration to these cities, to divert it elsewhere. Differentials also extend to the age composition of the various migration status groups.
