Abstract

NABUCO, Paula. The hukou system and migration in China: some notes on the division of labour. Rev. econ. contemp. [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.2, pp. 237-258. ISSN 1415-9848.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-98482012000200004.

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the new labour conditions in China and its importance on the countryís recent economic development. For that matter we focus on the labour conditions and labour relations of the migrant workers, who are the majority of the labour force employed by the foreign funded enterprises in China, as well as by the private companies working on the east and southeast regions of China. We aim at showing, at least partially, how the recent changes and the countryís historical division between the urban and rural areas shaped some of the unique conditions of Chinese labor force. The land reform and the household registration system (called hukou in Chinese), along with the huge amount of investments made after the adoption of the reforms, produced the biggest internal migration flux that the world has ever seen.

Keywords : China; labor; migration; labor division.