拼装理论视角下中国农村流动人口回流决策生成机制——以江苏省扬州地区为例

Return decision-making mechanism of Chinese rural migrants from the perspective of assemblage theory:A case study of Yangzhou,Jiangsu province

人口回流已成为中国快速城镇化中后期阶段的显著现象。已有研究多从静态视角探究农村流动人口回流的意愿和影响因素,忽略了人口回流决策的动态实现过程。本文基于江苏省扬州地区的案例,引入拼装理论视角,采用扎根理论的研究方法,揭示了农村流动人口群体回流至家乡县城的决策的动态生成过程和模式。研究发现:(1)农村流动人口回流至家乡县城主要受目的地环境、家庭、县城环境、人生事件和物质需求五个要素的影响,它们联系形成了“人口回流拼装”。其中家庭要素是回流决策生成的核心动因。(2)人口回流拼装由“目的地环境-县城环境-家庭”“目的地环境-物质需求-县城环境-家庭”和“目的地环境-人生事件-县城环境-家庭”等三组拼装关系构成。(3)家乡县城是回流者在有限能力下实现完整家庭定居并享受城市资源的理想目的地,县城相对安逸的生活和工作环境、浓厚的“家园感”也是吸引农村流动人口回到县城的重要原因。(4)农村流动人口的回流是一个“过程+契机”的回流决策生成模式,并存在性别差异,农村女性流动人口受家庭因素的约束较大。目的地环境、家庭、县城环境、人生事件和物质需求通过拼装在空间上呈现领域化向去领域化的转变,并在契机的刺激下,促成回流决策。

Currently,China has entered the intermediate and advanced stages of urbanization,leading to a significant shift in population migration patterns,characterized by a deceleration in the growth rate of migrant populations and an increasingly noticeable trend of population return.Most studies on population return have traditionally focused on examining the willingness of migrant populations to return and the factors influencing their decision from a static perspective,overlooking its dynamic nature.Assemblage theory,known for its spatio-temporal dynamics and collective thinking,is widely applied in mobility studies.Therefore,this study introduces an explanatory approach based on assemblage theory and employs grounded theory research methods to concentrate on rural migrants who have returned to their hometown counties.It codes and uses 30 interview datasets from Yizheng,Gaoyou,and Baoying between 2022-2023 to explore the dynamic process underlying population return decisions as well as the interconnections among influencing factors with an aim to delve deeper into the fundamental driving forces behind population return while further enriching theoretical research on mechanisms driving such returns.The research findings are as follows:(1)Rural migrants returning to their hometown counties is mainly influenced by five elements of destination environment,family,county environment,life events,and material needs,which are linked to form the"population return assemblage".Among them,the family element is the core driving force of the generation of return decision.(2)The population return assemblage consists of three sets of assemblage relationships:"destination environment-county environment-family","destination environment-material needs-county environment-family",and"destination environment-life events-county environment-family".(3)The county seat is the ideal destination for the returners to realize a complete family settlement and enjoy urban resources within their limited ability.The relatively leisurely living and working environment and the strong sense of"home"in the county seat are also important reasons for attracting rural migrants to return to the county seat.(4)The return of rural migrants is a"process+opportunity"model of return decision generation,and there are gender differences.Rural female migrants are more constrained by family factors.The destination environment,family,county environment,life events,and material needs are assembled in space to present a shift from domain to non-domain,and are stimulated by opportunities to facilitate return decisions.