Hungry, Homeless, and Hopeless: The Injustices of the China Hukou Registration System

Authors

Lauren Barden, Brigham Young University
Celeste Beesley, Brigham Young University

Keywords

homeless, hopeless, hungry, China Hukou Registration System

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

Abstract

This study analyzes the destructive social and economic consequences of the Chinese hukou registration system through quantitative analysis of the inequality gap between rural-urban migrants and urbanites in Chinese cities between 1995-2002. By performing statistical tests on individual-level survey data, this paper documents the economic gap between urban hukou holders and non-urban hukou holders in 1995. It also shows that rural-urban migrant inequality has not increased between 1995 and 2002, and that the costs of migrating to the cities under a rural hukou were less in 2002 than previously. However, results also confirmed that the hukou policy significantly restricted the social mobility and fundamental rights of Chinese rural-urban migrants.

Recommended Citation

Barden, Lauren and Beesley, Celeste (2017) "Hungry, Homeless, and Hopeless: The Injustices of the China Hukou Registration System," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2017: Iss. 1, Article 71.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2017/iss1/71