How does rural homestead influence the hukou transfer intention of rural-urban migrants in China?

The household registration (hukou) system in China allows hukou to be transferred in the process of rural-urban migration, and such transfers exert a significant influence on the pace of urbanization and regional development in contemporary China. Rural-urban migrants who transfer their hukou to urban areas can use the collectively-owned rural homesteads in their hometowns that they had occupied until the housing properties on these lands disappear. Understanding the role of rural homesteads in rural-urban migrants' hukou transfer intentions is of significance for efforts to promote urbanization and to formulate appropriate policies regarding hukou transfer and agricultural land management. Nevertheless, the influence of access to rural homesteads on hukou transfer intentions has gone largely underexplored. In the present study, the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey data provide a basis for exploring these issues at the national level. The findings reveal that rural-urban migrants with access to a rural homestead show a 12% decrease in their propensities for transferring hukou than those without such access. Results derived from models with interaction terms suggest that two mechanisms are responsible for this outcome, an opportunity cost effect (OCE) and a revenue effect (RE). The OCE strengthens the inhibition effect of age on hukou transfer intentions but weakens the positive impact of labor contract coverage. The RE includes the absolute revenue effect (ARE) and the relative revenue effect (RRE). The former is evident in the weakened positive influence of non-village hometowns (townships, counties, or cities) on hukou transfer intentions and the latter in the strengthened positive influence of city size. The results further indicate that rural homesteads mediate hukou transfer intentions rather than affect them directly.