Factors Affecting Decision on Inter-Provincial Flow for Rural Floating Laborers and Attractiveness of Ingoing Provinces in China —Based on Traditional Theory, Human Capital Theory, New Theory and Institution Change Theory of Labor Migration

This paper answers two issues on the inter-provincial flow for rural floating laborers in China. Firstly, what are the influencing factors of rural floating laborers’ decisions in taking inter-provincial flow or not? Secondly, what are the factors that make the ingoing provinces more attractive for inter-provincial floating laborers? Paper bases on traditional theory, human capital theory, new theory and institution change theory of labor migration, and use discrete choice logit model with fixed effect and random effect.
Individual, familial and provincial characteristics are significantly affecting floating laborers’ decision: education and floating experience of laborer, number of children and way of land being cultivated in a family, per capita income and land per capita of the outgoing provinces have significant positive or negative impacts on odds ratio of inter-provincial flow.
Economic factors have a dominant role in ingoing provinces’ attractiveness: shorter distance between outgoing and ingoing provinces, higher per capita income, larger probability of employment and higher level of development, lead to larger attractiveness of the ingoing provinces for rural floating laborers.
Keywords: Inter-Provincial Flow; Attractiveness of Ingoing Province; Individual, Familial and Provincial; Discrete Choice Logit Model