Economic Status and Social Attitudes of Migrant Workers in China

Migrant workers, meaning those who used to be farmers but have left rural areas and found jobs in cities as a result of economic reform and rapid development in China, have made a significant contribution to the burgeoning labor market and played an important role in speeding up the transition from a planned to a market economy. This present paper considers the economic status and social attitudes of migrant workers. It is based on the analysis of a large-scale survey in 2006, which was conducted using questionnaires and covered 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout the country. It was found that the income status of migrant workers depends heavily on the education and technical skills that they have developed, rather than on identity-based discrimination. Surprisingly, it was also found that those on less income and of lower economic and social status show more positive attitudes to society than those who are affluent and considered of higher social status. It is concluded that the decisive factor in attitude and behavior of migrant workers is historic rather than economic.