Economic Growth:The Fundamental Path to the Realization of Social Security Rights for Migrant Workers

The International Labour Organization seems to only see the aspect of social security promoting economic growth,while neglecting the aspect of economic growth supporting social security.From the standpoint of materialism and the practice of social security,the realization of social security rights for migrant workers fundamentally depends on economic growth.The Belt and Road Initiative has provided a Chinese solution for creating a strong material and technological foundation to meet the social security needs of all people,including migrant workers.

What Drives Migrants Back to Set up Firms?Return-home Entrepreneurial Intention of Rural Migrant Workers in China

The extant literature on international immigrants has discussed migrants’entrepreneurial activities in the context of Western countries but has paid little attention to return-home entrepreneurial intention(RHEI).Rural migrant workers(RMWs)in China,who used to promote rural development by remittances and were characterized by similarities with early international migrants,have gradually returned to their hometowns to initiate entrepreneurial activities.Based on the structured questionnaire conducted in 2015 and 2020in Anhui Province,China,this article combines the concept of mixed embeddedness with the idea of double-layered embeddedness and analyzes the impacts of the social,economic and institutional context in RMWs’hometowns and migration destinations on RMWs’RHEI by using binary logistic regression.The article shows that the social,economic,and institutional environments of RMWs’hometowns and migration destinations have effects on their RHEI.The embeddedness in the economic and informal institutional context in RMWs’RHEI is even more important than personal characteristics.Compared with migration destinations,RMWs’hometowns exert a more influential effect on their RHEI.However,that does not mean that the role of migration destinations can be undervalued.Actually,the better the social,economic,and institutional environments of migration destinations RMWs moved into is,the higher entrepreneurial intention they will have after returning to their hometowns.The article proposes a modified framework in combination of mixed embeddedness with double-layer embeddedness and proves that it is suitable for analyzing RMWs’RHEI.The framework has important implications for strengthening China’s RMWs to return home to start their own businesses.

Economic Analysis and Countermeasures of Migrant Workers' Problems

Generation and development of migrant workers' problems are analyzed from the perspective of economics. There are economic factors causing migrant workers' problems: imbalance in the industrial structure brings farmers living pressure; urban modern civilization is attractive to farmers; urban economic development needs a large number of agricultural laborers engaged in manual labor. Moreover, relevant countermeasures are proposed. The dual economic structure is to be broken to gradually eliminate the barrier between urban and rural areas; an unified and standard labor market is to be established to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas; overall considerations should be taken and the reform of matching system should be quickened; the construction of urbanization is to be duly promoted to improve the level of modernization in the countryside.

The Status Quo, Dilemma and Path Innovation of the Citizenization of the New Generation of Migrant Workers

The citizenization of the new generation of migrant workers is the only way to promote China’s urbanization.Based on the development status of the new generation of migrant workers,this paper summarizes the difficulties encountered in the four aspects of employment,housing,social security and the education of migrant workers'children in the process of citizenization,finally explores four innovative ways of citizenization of the new generation of migrant workers,such as,strengthening vocational skills training to improve the employment quality of the new generation of migrant workers,improving the housing security mechanism to ensure that they have a place to live,improving the social security system to safeguard that they can be treated for their illnesses and the elderly,improving the distribution of educational resources to promote fair education for the children of them.

Intestinal parasitic infections and risk factors among Myanmar migrant workers in northeast Thailand

Objective:To determine the prevalence and associated factors of intestinal parasitic infections in migrant workers in Nakhon Ratchasima Province,Northeast Thailand.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2017 to July 2018 in 600 Myanmar migrant workers.Questionnaires were employed for collecting the demographic data of participants.Stool samples were collected and examined using the formalinether concentration technique.Risk factors for intestinal parasitic infections were determined using multiple logistic regressions analyses.Results:The overall infection rate of intestinal parasitic infections was 27.67%(166/600).Among the intestinal helminthes observed,hookworm was most abundant(8.67%)followed by Trichuris trichiura(8.50%),Opisthorchis viverrini(4.17%),Ascaris lumbricoides(1.50%),Strogyloides stercoralis(1.17%)and Hymenolepis nana(0.5%).Meanwhile,Entamoeba coli was the most prevalent intestinal protozoa(4.33%,26/600)followed by Endolimax nana(1.33%),Entamoeba histolytica complex(1.17%),Blastocystis sp.(1.0%)and Giardia duodenalis(0.17%).The study found significant associations between gender and Strogyloides stercoralis infection(ORadj=5.61,95%CI=1.18–26.70,P=0.03),workers aged 30 years old were likely to have a lower risk of the T.trichiura infection(ORadj=0.45,95%CI=0.23–0.89).Moreover,the history of consuming raw or undercooked cyprinoid fish was a risk factor of Opisthorchis viverrini infection(ORadj=2.82,95%CI=1.22–6.49,P=0.015).Conclusions:There remains a high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among Myanmar migrant workers in the study area and therefore health screenings for all migrant workers in Thailand are required.

Educational divergence among urban residents and migrant workers: Evidence from China

While the Harris-Todaro model is a traditional approach used in researching the urban-rural dichotomy,it fails to explain families’goals to maximize their current utility in terms of intertemporal decision-making con‐ditions.To fill this gap,in this paper,an urban-rural dichotomy model involving labor migration and educa‐tion is established,in which it is assumed that family utility derives from consumption and children’s educa‐tional achievement.The steady-state path derived through the Bellman equation suggests that increasing edu‐cational investment and family education intensity leads to a significant urban-rural difference in children’s educational achievement.Compared with the traditional Harris-Todaro model,the transversality condition is loosened in this model,while the unavailability of loans constrains migrant families.Four hypotheses are made and tested using an empirical study.An ordinary least squares regression was used in the analysis,but due to the endogeneity caused by missing variables,the instrumental variable method and two-stage least squares regression were used.The results demonstrate that the household registration system can explain 44.5%of the educational achievement difference,and the initial difference is inflated 4.73 times after nine years of compulsory education.This divergence could increase the differences caused by household registra‐tion status,resulting in larger income gaps and intergenerational heredity of identities.

Willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses: A case study of 45 villages in Henan Province, China

The willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses has an important impact on local urbanization.At present,there are few researches on the willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses.The existing researches mostly focus on the perspective of sociology and economics,and few studies are conducted from the perspective of geography.Based on the survey data of 45 villages in Henan Province of China in 2019,this study used binary logistic method to study the influencing factors of the willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses.The willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses is affected by many factors,such as personal,family,village,and returning factors.Among them,age and returning period are negatively correlated with the willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses.Factors such as years of education,years of working,and per capita income of village are positively correlated with the willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses.Returning migrant workers in plains and hilly areas are more willing to purchase houses than those in mountainous areas.The formation of the willingness to purchase houses is mainly related to economic foundation,age,marital status,and other factors.Returning migrant workers are becoming more willing to purchase houses,and the expected locations are mainly concentrated in the county seats.In the context of China’s high density of rural population and rapid urbanization,more returning migrant workers are expected to purchase houses in cities and towns for the sake of employment,marriage,children’s education,and access to public services.As a result,there is an extensive market of potential purchasers,which affects the development of the local urban real estate industry and is of great significance for returning migrant workers to truly integrate into the cities.However,some returning migrant workers still choose to purchase houses in villages,mainly affected by traditional concepts,living habits,and the better development of villages.Therefore,it is of great practical significance to explore the willingness of returning migrant workers to purchase houses,so as to master the flow laws and future behavior of returning migrant workers to purchase houses.

How Urban Public Service Affects the Well-Being of Migrant Workers:An Empirical Analysis Based on the Theoretical Perspective of Social Comparison Theory

Government city management is facing higher requirements with the development of the number of migrant workers.Therefore,improving their subjective well-being is a significant practical problem that the government must consider in public governance.This research discusses the influence of public service satisfaction on the well-being of urban migrant workers from the perspective of social comparison theory and the role of the sense of social equity and social conflict in the process of this influence.Using the structural equation modeling and moderated mediating mechanism analysis,the results show that:(1)the satisfaction of social and economic public service significantly and positively affects subjective well-being.(2)The sense of social equity completely mediated the influence of the satisfaction of public social service on well-being and partly mediated the influence of the satisfaction of public financial service on well-being.(3)The sense of social equity and conflict have a moderated mediating effect for social and economic public service satisfaction on well-being.Finally,the article concludes with some suggestions to improve the well-being of migrant workers based on the conclusion of the study.

The Effects of Uncertainty Risks on Consumption of Migrant Workers under the Economic New Normal

Based on the precautionary theory,this paper established a framework for consumption of migrant workers from the perspective of the uncertainty risk,and analyzed the effects of uncertain income risk on consumption of migrant workers using the quantile regression method.Results indicated that the income uncertainty significantly inhibits the consumption of migrant workers. The lower the consumption level or the lower the income level,the stronger the inhibitory effect will be. Uncertainty of expenditure also has a significant inhibitory effect on the consumption of migrant workers. Promoting urbanization of migrant workers and accelerating the reform of the household registration system can reduce the uncertainty risks faced by migrant workers,so as to raise the consumption expectation of migrant workers,release the consumption potential of migrant workers,and improve the living standards of migrant workers.

Zhejiang Keen to Protect Migrant Workers' Rights and Interests

EDITOR＇S NOTE： FoUowing are some of the stories about how migrant workers＇ rights and interests are protected in Zhejiang, one of the best developed province on the Chinese mainland. Through interviews with more than 100 migrant workers in the province, we found that migrant workers there enjoy equal treatment as their counterparts registered as urban residents, and that their rights and interests are effectively protected.

Predicaments and Countermeasures of the Protection of Migrant Workers' Human Rights——From the Perspective of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

International migration mainly happens between the North and the South Mig rant workers have made important contributions to the inclusive growth and sustainable development of world economy, but their human rights are often violated In recent years, frequent extreme terrorists attacks and large-scale refugee influxes have triggered anti-for eign sentiment and policies in developed countries, which expose migrant workers to an unprecedented human rights crisis The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is an important convention adopted by the United Nations that specially protects human rights of migrant workers However, as the convention has not been ratified by major developed countries where most migrant workers seek employment, the protection regime has an empty shell Developing countries where most migrant workers originate from should strengthen cooperation among themselves and urge developed countries to fulfill the duty of human rights protection by normalizing the status of migrant workers and that of members of their families in employment countries and ratifying the convention as soon as possible.

A discourse on creating and rendering educational and cultural enrichment services to rural migrant workers by public libraries

As far as China's enormous success in her economic reforms and development is concerned,Chinese rural migrant workers indeed have had their biggest share of contributions.Yet ironically in return,they have only received a disproportionate meager share of benefit rewards.These people represent a huge economically deprived group at the bottom of the social totem pole in China's metropolises.On the whole as a social group,their educational attainment is relatively low as compared to their average urban coworkers.As such being the case,their rights to access some of the cost-free cultural and educational enrichment programs in the society are limited and not always assured.Nevertheless and in general speaking,they manifest a strong and consistent desire to acquire all sorts of new and practical knowledge by means of accessing the resources and facilities of their local public libraries.It is suggested in this paper that public libraries are in a good position to give strong support to the central government's strategic planning for the development of a public culture service systema).In implementing such a government initiative with an unswerving purpose of advancing social justice and equality,public libraries should strife to provide as many as possible their library services at no cost to the public,especially to those socially deprived rural migrant workers.

More Than 66 Mln Chinese Migrant Workers Join Trade Unions

According to figures recently released by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, more than 66.74 million Chinese migrant workers, people who come from rural areas and land jobs in cities, became trade union members. The federation estimated there are 210 million migrant workers nationwide with the country＇s rural population of 900 million. The total number of trade union members increased from 123 million in 2003 to 209 million by the end of June 2008, said the federation.

Unions Protect Migrant Workers

Our story goes back to late April 2006, just before May Day. In Beijing, a local newspaper reported that at a construction site,migrant workers from poor rural villages across China were often given leftovers to eat as their employer tried by every possible means to reduce the cost. The news report instantly aroused public indignation, and Cui Ruilan, a local union leader, felt uneasy about what had happened to those migrant workers she was supposed to protect. She lost no time to intervene in her capacity as vice- chairperson of the Construction Industry Work Committee of the Beijing Municipal Federation of Trade Unions. She went down to the construction site, found the contractor and talked with him. In just a few days migrant workersthere were able to find that their food and accommodation had improved a great deal.

Theory,Demonstration and Methods: Research on Social Security of Migrant Workers by Domestic Scholar

Social security of migrant workers has been significant in dissolving social contradictions and achieving the economic and social development in China during the transitional period. The researches of domestic scholar on social security of migrant workers can be classified into three categories. Firstly, theoretical analysis on social security of migrant workers, including researches on the appeal of social security and misunderstanding of recognition, theory-construction of rural worker social security, policy defects and equity construction in social security system of migrant workers. Secondly, real studies on social security of migrant workers, including researches on sequence of demand and influencing factors of social security of migrant workers as well as intrinsic motivation forming the perspective on social security. Lastly, road exploration of establishing social security system, including researches on the multi-level development of rural worker social security system, comparison of "Double-low method", "Guangdong Method" and "Shanghai Method" of the social security of migrant workers in Zhejiang Province and establishing multi-level social security system according to the hierarchy after the internal differentiation.

Investigation and Study on Employment Status of Migrant Workers in Heilongjiang Province

With the gradual acceleration of urbanization speed and continuous improvements of agricultural productivity, the number of migrant workers is increasing. The living conditions of this group in cities determine the quality of urbanization in China, and are of great and far-reaching significance to Chinese construction of comprehensive well-off society. This study took the migrant workers in Heilongjiang Province as the research object, and took the representative new-generation migrant workers as the respondent to have a comprehensive analysis of the employment status. The study focused on these aspects, such as nature information, employment selection, employment quality, and social security, etc. Finally, it provided valuable ideas and methods on the reasonable solutions of the employment problems of the migrant workers to better increase farmers＇ income and improve their living qualities.

Minimum Wage Regulation in China and Its Applications to Migrant Workers in the Urban Labor Market

Using data at micro and city levels, the present paper explores the policy evolution of the minimum wage system in China, and examines its coverage for migrant workers. The analysis indicates that minimum wage policy has been substantially improved in terms of both coverage and the level of the minimum wage standard, but that the current policy tool that relies on the monthly wage rate is not effective. Because migrant workers tend to work more hours, use of an hourly wage rate is more appropriate than a monthly wage rate.

Social insurance for migrant workers in China:impact of the 2008 Labour Contract Law

Using the China Household Income Project(CHIP)2007,2008,and 2009 longitudinal migrant survey data,this article provides new evidence on the effects of China’s 2008 Labour Contract Law(LCL)on migrant workers’social insurance participation,including in pensions,work injury insurance,unemployment insurance,medical insurance,and the housing provident fund.We find consistently strong evidence that migrant workers’labour contract status was significantly associated with their participation in all five types of social insurance.In particular,having or gaining a long-term contract helped promote migrant workers’social insurance participation,while losing one such contract decreased their chance of social insurance participation.Using a difference-in-differences(DID)method and focussing on the panel sample,we find that the implementation of the LCL helped boost migrant workers’chance of social insurance participation consistently and significantly,especially for those who gained a long-term contract.These findings suggest that the LCL at least partly reached its intended policy goal of improving social protection for migrant workers,a disadvantaged group in the Chinese labour market.Future research should use longitudinal data and rigorous methods to track the long-term impact of this important law and help build a strong,unified social insurance system for all Chinese citizens.

Do Nutrition and Health Affect Migrant Workers' Incomes?Some Evidence from Beijing,China

Migrant workers have become a major element of the labor force in Chinese cities, making important contributions to the economy while forming a socially disadvantaged group. Existing research on the relationship between the level of nutrition and health and income in China mainly focuses on farmers living in rural areas. Based on a Mincer equation and using a survey in Beijing, this paper examines the relationship between migrant workers＂ nutrition and health levels and their monthly incomes. We find that the nutrition intake and the body mass index have positive effects on income while duration of illness and daily working hours have negative effects. These conclusions imply that the Chinese Government should put more emphasis on improving migrant workers＇ well-being, including offering educational programs on nutrition and health, and enhancing medical insurance and the old-age insurance system.