ABSTRACT
People with different characteristics have different likelihoods of migrating – whether the migration in question is "free" or "forced." A more detailed analysis of in-migration patterns of young adults shows that, whatever the reason for migrating, there was apt to be a systematic variation by city size or level of development. The general predominance of males among the in-migrants doubtless reflects the still-dominant socioeconomic position of men in Chinese society. Only among those who migrated to marry or to accompany a family member do females outnumber males. Explanations differ for the generally positive association found between educational attainment and migration. In view of the generally positive association of migration with education, this gives a somewhat lower educational cast to China’s migration than might otherwise have been expected. Among the sum of adult in-migrants, the never married were the most numerous group at the time of migration, and the currently married the next most numerous.
