Fertility Behaviors of Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China

In: Asian and Pacific migration journal: APMJ, Volume 16, Issue 1, p. 57-79

Abstract

This study deals with the fertility behaviors of migrants in China. Based on fieldwork carried out in migrants' current community in Beijing and their home villages in Henan province, the study examined how culture and practices shaped in their home villages and urban influences bear on migrants' fertility behaviors. Findings from the study confirm the results of previous quantitative studies. Under current social conditions in China, it is unrealistic to expect any drastic changes in migrants' fertility patterns. The factors that brought down the fertility of urban residents, such as old-age pension and opportunities for social mobility, are not available to migrants. Overall, migration per se has no significant impact on migrants' fertility behaviors.