Education of Migrant Children in Urban China: An Origin-Destination Pooled Approach

Zai Liang, Queens College
Yiu Por Chen, Columbia University

In this paper, we examine school enrollment of migrant children in China. Using data from the 1995 China 1% Population Sample Survey, we apply a research strategy that incorporates both migration origin and destination. This allows us to estimate school enrollment rates for temporary migrant children, permanent migrant children, local children, and non-migrant children at the place of origin. Two major findings emerge. First, temporary migrant children are much less likely to be enrolled in school compared to local children. Temporary migrants within one year of duration of residence suffer the most. Second, compared to non-migrant children at the place of origin, rural temporary migrant children also suffer a major disadvantage in school enrollment. As education becomes more and more important for socio-economic mobility in the Chinese society, such disadvantages faced by temporary migrant children will have detrimental and long-term consequences for migrant children themselves and for urban society as a whole.