| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In the first year, we have done the following basic work.
First, we have documented the special and complex features of the hukou system, its enforcement history including the strict enforcement in the Mao era, and the gradual easing in the Deng era; Second, we have looked for cases and data on how hukou affects migration, foreign direct investment into China and Chinese trade with other countries; Third, we have interviewed some migrant workers and firms, and will continue to interview more, in order to obtain more detailed information on: migrant incentives, migration networks, migration problems, job satisfaction, migrant compensation, the type of firms and occupation they work for, the skill requirements, income gaps across regions and migrants, etc.; Forth, we are in the process of building a theoretical model of China's hukou reform, and linking the theoretical model to the reform of other policies, such as those in exports, foreign direct investment, special economic zones, urbanization, one-child policy, etc.; Fifth, we have organized several workshops at the Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, and invited scholars that are doing related research to present their work and exchange ideas.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
This academic year, we plan to construct theoretical models, based on the data and facts we have obtained from our interviews, which incorporates the hukou system, linking China’s large FDI inflow and export pattern reversal to hukou control loosening. We have in mind agglomeration models such as the Krugman-Melitz model and the classic trade and development models, based on which we shall build our own model. We examine the impacts of the remaining hukou control on rural-urban migration, urban and rural wage gaps, and their relationship with the costs of manufacturing firms in China including foreign multinationals.
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