ABSTRACT
One major consequence of the economic reforms in China has been a dramatic rise in population mobility. “Outside labor” is now a visible and important part of the economy of large cities and coastal export-processing centers. Equally visible is the urban construction boom and the accompanying residential mobility as urbanites increase their housing consumption. The significance of social and economic transformation brought forth by changes in mobility in the last two decades is sometimes equated with the introduction of the momentous household responsibility system and the development of rural enterprises. Population mobility will continue to be important in the coming years as China becomes more open and as the economic structure shifts. The accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will only accentuate this process of change. The migration issue is also closely tied to the labor/unemployment issue, and both issues are attracting much current policy concern.
