Weaker intentions or lower realization? Explaining gender differences in labor migration from rural China

Abstract Prior studies have consistently documented Chinese women’s lower migration rates. This study draws on the perspective of linking migration intentions and behavior to explain whether the gender differences in Chinese people’s labor migration behavior arise from men’s and women’s differences in migration intentions or in turning migration intentions into behavior. Using two waves of data from the Longitudinal Survey on Rural Urban Migration in China carried out in 2008 and 2009, this study links one-year labor migration intentions and outcomes for men and women in rural China. Results indicate that compared with men, women have lower levels of one-year labor migration intentions and outcomes and are also less likely to turn positive labor migration intentions into behavior. The study finds that gender differences in labor migration outcomes are partly related to the fact that men are more responsive to their positive labor migration intentions, but also to fact that men are more likely than women to migrate against their negative migration intentions. Reflections on using migration intentions to study migration behavior in this Chinese context and beyond are provided.