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The Emergence of Informal Institutions among Internal Migrants in Urban China
[journal article]
Abstract China’s dramatic economic development and urbanisation have led to an increase in its number of internal migrants. As of 2013, this group accounted for more than 20 per cent of the country’s population, and approximately 70 per cent of people in this group are working in the informal economy. This p... view more
China’s dramatic economic development and urbanisation have led to an increase in its number of internal migrants. As of 2013, this group accounted for more than 20 per cent of the country’s population, and approximately 70 per cent of people in this group are working in the informal economy. This paper pays special attention to migrant-traders in the informal sector and the strategies they use in Shanghai. Migrants are doubly marginalised by the hukou (户口) and danwei (单位) systems in the megacity and have only limited access to social welfare. It is argued that the informal strategies of these marginalised actors develop in related patterns of social relationships and institutional constraints. Such strategies create new forms of informal institutions that are justified and gain legitimacy when countering unequal and hierarchical formal institutions and social arrangements. This paper empirically explores how informal institutions can act in parallel with or diverge from formal institutions, and how they might influence formal institutions in the long term.... view less
Keywords
megacity; institutional change; social situation; internal migration; migrant worker; social assistance; informal sector; China
Classification
Migration, Sociology of Migration
Social Security
Free Keywords
Shanghai; divergent informal institutions; hukou
Document language
English
Publication Year
2016
Page/Pages
p. 83-112
Journal
Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 45 (2016) 2
Issue topic
Marginalisation and State Intervention in China
ISSN
1868-4874
Status
Published Version; reviewed