From Newcomers to Middle Class: The Social and Spatial Mobility of New Urban Migrants
This article studies the relationship between social and spatial mobility of new urban migrants and residents. The objective is to present the influences of the household registration system on the social mobility of China's new urban migrants through a comparison of the differences and similarities between these two groups. Two data sets are adopted in this article: the Blue Book of Youth Nos. 1 and 2 and in depth interviews conducted during the summers of 2009, 2010, and 2011. Thematic analysis was employed to understand their social mobility after spatial mobility. Results show that new urban migrants are relatively vulnerable. While society generally expects them to assimilate rather than achieve upward social mobility, the hukou system limits their access to social welfare and security. Meanwhile, new urban residents who have access to advantages consider themselves lower middle class in terms of consumption, and maintain certain flexibility to further establish their social and economic status. In this article, "opportunity" is a significant theme. New urban residents strive to leverage their urban resident status to create individual wealth. For new migrants, the hukou system has relatively reduced the "opportunity." Although city government in China has launched some related policies, they remain insufficient in eliminating the physical and psychological gap between new urban migrants and residents, or to significantly increase opportunities available to migrants. A phased abolition of the hukou system should be implemented as soon as possible to reduce social costs and meet China's goals for social development and fairness.