Individual preferences, jobs, or amenities? Understanding the destination choices of highly and less-skilled migrants in urban China

Existing research has explored the spatial patterns and determinants of labor migration but has not considered the heterogeneity of migrants. This paper compares the migratory behavior of highly and less-skilled migrants to provide a more nuanced understanding of internal migration in urban China. We employ a nested multinomial logit approach to assess the relative contribution of individual characteristics and city attributes in explaining migrants' destination choices. The findings reveal both similarities and differences in highly and less-skilled migration. Migrants share primary priorities: spatial proximity to hometowns, moving to cities situated higher in the administrative hierarchy, occupations, and wages. But more importantly, migrants of varying skill levels have different strategies as they navigate increasing economic opportunities and public services while simultaneously encountering a discriminatory hukou system. Highly skilled migrants are more mobile and prioritize their personal preferences; less-skilled migrants, although more restricted by gender, age, and hukou types and inclined for stability, tend to maximize their utility through temporary movement to large cities. Hence, policymakers of different cities should recognize people's heterogeneous migration behavior and design targeted policies.