Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-18T12:09:41.126Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Instrumental Guanxi Culture and Inbound Urban Migration in China: A Prefecture-level Analysis Using Online Search Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2024

Zhihui Fu
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China,
Shukai Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China,
Guodong Ju
Affiliation:
Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK
Wen Ma*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China,
Yunsong Chen*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China,
*
Corresponding authors: Wen Ma; Email: ucwenma@smail.nju.edu.cn; Yunsong Chen; Email: yunsong.chen@nju.edu.cn
Corresponding authors: Wen Ma; Email: ucwenma@smail.nju.edu.cn; Yunsong Chen; Email: yunsong.chen@nju.edu.cn

Abstract

The socioeconomic role of guanxi networks among individuals has been widely recorded, yet macro-level analysis has been sparse in empirical research. This research fills that gap by presenting the first nationally representative evidence illustrating the connection between regional guanxi culture and population mobility among cities in China, with a particular focus on instrumental guanxi culture. To quantify guanxi culture, we employ online search indices related to gift giving, a measure which is challenging to capture through traditional survey data. Applying matched prefecture-level data spanning from 2011 to 2019, the panel model reveals a strong negative correlation between a city's instrumental guanxi culture and inbound migration, while sentimental guanxi culture exhibits a positive correlation with inbound mobility. This research not only adds to the existing theories by exploring the macro-level effects of both instrumental and sentimental guanxi practices but also introduces an innovative method for quantifying guanxi culture through big data analysis.

摘要

摘要

个体层面关系网络的社会经济作用已经被广泛研究,但其宏观层面的实证分析仍然较少。本研究首次通过具有代表性的研究证据,阐明了中国各城市的地区性关系文化与人口流动之间的联系,特别关注工具性关系文化。我们采用与赠送礼物相关的在线搜索指数量化难以通过传统调查数据捕捉的关系文化,并运用 2011 年至 2019 年的市级社会经济数据与关系文化指数构成面板模型,揭示了工具性关系文化与国内人口流动之间显著的负相关关系,而情感性性关系文化则与国内人口流动呈显著的正相关关系。本研究探讨工具性和情感性关系实践的宏观效应,在做出理论贡献的同时,引入了一种基于大数据的新型关系文化测量方法。

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of SOAS University of London

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackah, Charles, and Medvedev, Denis. 2012. “Internal migration in Ghana: determinants and welfare impacts.” International Journal of Social Economics 39(10), 764784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almohamed, Asam, Vyas, Dhaval and Zhang, Jinglan. 2017. “Rebuilding social capital: engaging newly arrived refugees in participatory design.” Proceedings of the 29th Australian conference on computer-human interaction, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 28 November 2017, 5967.Google Scholar
Barbalet, Jack. 2017. “Dyadic characteristics of guanxi and their consequences.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 47(3), 332347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbalet, Jack. 2021a. The Theory of Guanxi and Chinese Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbalet, Jack. 2021b. “Where does guanxi come from? Bao, shu, and renqing in Chinese connections.” Asian Journal of Social Science 49(1), 3137.Google Scholar
Berry, Chris, and Farquhar, Mary. 2006. China on Screen: Cinema and Nation. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Bian, Yanjie. 1997. “Bringing strong ties back in: indirect ties, network bridges, and job searches in China.” American Sociological Review 62(3), 366385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bian, Yanjie. 2017. “Guanxi capital and social eating in Chinese cities: theoretical models and empirical analyses.” In Dubos, Rene (ed.), Social Capital. New York: Routledge, 275295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bian, Yanjie. 2018. “The prevalence and the increasing significance of guanxi.” The China Quarterly 235, 597621.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bian, Yanjie, Breiger, Ronald, Galaskiewicz, Joseph and Davis, Deborah. 2005. “Occupation, class, and social networks in urban China.” Social Forces 83(4), 1443–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burt, Ronald S., Bian, Yanjie and Opper, Sonja. 2018. “More or less guanxi: trust is 60% network context, 10% individual difference.” Social Networks 54, 1225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, Allan K.K., Denton, Luther Trey and Tsang, Alex S.L.. 2003. “The art of gift giving in China.” Business Horizons 46(4), 4752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, Kam Wing, and Zhang, Li. 1999. “The hukou system and rural–urban migration in China: processes and changes.” The China Quarterly 160, 818855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Buwei, Ma, Wen, Pan, Yu, Guo, Wei and Chen, Yunsong. 2021. “PM 2.5 exposure and anxiety in China: evidence from the prefectures.” BMC Public Health 21, 18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Chao C., and Chen, Xiao-Ping. 2009. “Negative externalities of close guanxi within organizations.” Asia Pacific Journal of Management 26, 3753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Ying, Friedman, Ray, Yu, Enhai and Sun, Fubin. 2011. “Examining the positive and negative effects of guanxi practices: a multi-level analysis of guanxi practices and procedural justice perceptions.” Asia Pacific Journal of Management 28(1), 715735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Yuanyuan, and Feng, Shuaizhang. 2013. “Access to public schools and the education of migrant children in China.” China Economic Review 26, 7588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Yunsong. 2012. “Do networks pay off among internal migrants in China? An instrumental variable analysis.” Chinese Sociological Review 45(1), 2854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Yunsong. 2022. Causal Effects of Social Capital: Labor Markets and Beyond. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Yunsong, He, Guangye and Li, Shuanglong. 2020. “Guanxi networking, associational involvement, and political trust in contemporary China.” Journal of Contemporary China 29(125), 714730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Yunsong, He, Guangye and Yan, Fei. 2021. Understanding China through Big Data: Applications of Theory-oriented Quantitative Approaches. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, Zhiming, Nielsen, Ingrid and Smyth, Russell. 2014. “Access to social insurance in urban China: a comparative study of rural–urban and urban–urban migrants in Beijing.” Habitat International 41, 243252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croll, Elisabeth. 2000. Review of The Consumer Revolution in Urban China edited by Deborah S. Davis. The China Quarterly 163, 848850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Démurger, Sylvie, and Li, Shi. 2013. “Migration, remittances, and rural employment patterns: evidence from China.” In Giulietti, Corrado, Tatsiramos, Konstantinos and Zimmermann, Klaus F. (eds.), Labor Market Issues in China (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 37). Leeds: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 3163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Du, Yang, Park, Albert and Wang, Sangui. 2005. “Migration and rural poverty in China.” Journal of Comparative Economics 33(4), 688709.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fan, Chuncui Velma, Hall, Peter V. and Wall, Geoffrey. 2009. “Migration, hukou status, and labor-market segmentation: the case of high-tech development in Dalian.” Environment and Planning A 41(7), 1647–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fei, Xiaotong. 1992. From the Soil, The Foundations of Chinese Society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, Robin, and Salt, John. 1979. “Migration between labour market areas in Great Britain, 1970–1971.” Regional Studies 13(2), 211231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gold, Thomas B. 1985. “After comradeship: personal relations in China since the Cultural Revolution.” The China Quarterly 104, 657675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodkind, Daniel, and West, Loraine A.. 2002. “China's floating population: definitions, data and recent findings.” Urban Studies 39(12), 2237–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granovetter, Mark S. 1973. “The strength of weak ties.” American Journal of Sociology 78(6), 1360–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guo, Xiaoxian, and Chen, Qi. 2022. “Heterogeneous returns to social networks: effects on earnings and job satisfaction in the Chinese labor market.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(9), 115.Google ScholarPubMed
Guthrie, Douglas. 1998. “The declining significance of guanxi in China's economic transition.” The China Quarterly 154, 254282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guthrie, Douglas. 2002. “The importance of guanxi in China.” In Gold, Thomas, Guthrie, Douglas and Wank, David (eds.), Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi. New York: Cambridge University Press, 3756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, Carolyn L. 2005. “Capitalism without contracts versus capitalists without capitalism: comparing the influence of Chinese guanxi and Russian blat on marketization.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 38(3), 309327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Ambrose Yeo-chi. 1991. “Kuan-hsi and network building: a sociological interpretation.” Daedalus 120(2), 6384.Google Scholar
Lee, Everett S. 1966. “A theory of migration.” Demography 3(1), 4757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LeSage, James P., and Ha, Christina L.. 2012. “The impact of migration on social capital: do migrants take their bowling balls with them?” Growth and Change 43(1), 126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leung, Thomas K.P., Wong, Y.H. and Wong, Syson. 1996. “A study of Hong Kong businessmen's perceptions of the role of ‘guanxi’ in the People's Republic of China.” Journal of Business Ethics 15(7), 749758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Shuanglong, and Yan, Fei. 2019. “Searching for red songs: the politics of revolutionary nostalgia in contemporary China.” The China Quarterly 242, 121.Google Scholar
Liang, Zai, and Ma, Zhongdong. 2004. “China's floating population: new evidence from the 2000 census.” Population and Development Review 30(3), 467488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Nan. 2001. “Guanxi: a conceptual analysis.” In So, Alvin Y., Lin, Nan and Poston, Dudley (eds.), The Chinese Triangle of Mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Comparative Institutional Analysis. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 153166.Google Scholar
Lin, Nan. 2004. “Job search in urban China: gender, network chains, and embedded resources.” In Flap, Henk and Völker, Beate (eds.), Creation and Returns of Social Capital: A New Research Program. London: Routledge, 145171.Google Scholar
Liu, Ying, Deng, Wei and Song, Xueqian. 2018. “Influence factor analysis of migrants’ settlement intention: considering the characteristic of city.” Applied Geography 96, 130140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, Yao, Ruan, Danching and Lai, Gina. 2013. “Social capital and economic integration of migrants in urban China.” Social Networks 35(3), 357369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millington, Andrew, Eberhardt, Markus and Wilkinson, Barry. 2005. “Gift giving, guanxi and illicit payments in buyer–supplier relations in China: analysing the experience of UK companies.” Journal of Business Ethics 57(3), 255268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ming, Juan, Liu, Jiachun and Wang, Zicheng. 2020. “Does the homeownership gap between rural–urban migrants and urban–urban migrants in China vary by income?” SAGE Open 10(4), 2158244020975421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molm, Linda D., Takahashi, Nobuyuki and Peterson, Gretchen. 2000. “Risk and trust in social exchange: an experimental test of a classical proposition.” American Journal of Sociology 105(5), 13961427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nolan, Jane. 2018. Western Bankers in China: Institutional Change and Corporate Governance. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palloni, Alberto, Massey, Douglas S., Ceballos, Miguel, Espinosa, Kristin and Spittel, Michael. 2001. “Social capital and international migration: a test using information on family networks.” American Journal of Sociology 106(5), 1262–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PCO (Population Census Office). 1985. Tabulations on the 1982 Population Census of the People's Republic of China. Beijing: China Statistics Press.Google Scholar
PCO. 2021. Tabulations on the 2020 Population Census of the People's Republic of China. Beijing: China Statistics Press.Google Scholar
Peng, Yusheng. 2004. “Kinship networks and entrepreneurs in China's transitional economy.” American Journal of Sociology 109(5), 1045–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shen, Jianfa. 1996. “Internal migration and regional population dynamics in China.” Progress in Planning 45, 123188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shi, Qiujie, and Liu, Tao. 2019. “Glimpsing China's future urbanization from the geography of a floating population.” Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 51(4), 817–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smart, Alan. 1993. “Gifts, bribes, and guanxi: a reconsideration of Bourdieu's social capital.” Cultural Anthropology 8(3), 388408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Song, Lina, and Appleton, Simon. 2008. “Social protection and migration in China: what can protect migrants from economic uncertainty.” Migration and Social Protection in China 14, 138152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsetsura, Katerina. 2015. “Guanxi, gift giving, or bribery? Ethical considerations of paid news in China.” Public Relations Journal 9(2), 126.Google Scholar
Ulusemre, Tolga. 2022. “Making sense of business-to-government guanxi amidst the northern–southern and rural–urban divides in China: the institutional vs the cultural perspective.” Asia Pacific Management Review 27(3), 173181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walder, Andrew G. 1986. Communist Neo-traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Wank, David L. 1996. “The institutional process of market clientelism: guanxi and private business in a south China city.” The China Quarterly 147, 820838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, Max. 1964. The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Yang, Mayfair Mei-Hui. 1989. “The gift economy and state power in China.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 31(1), 2554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, Mayfair Mei-Hui. 1994. Gifts, Favors, and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Yang, Mayfair Mei-Hui. 2002. “The resilience of guanxi and its new deployments: a critique of some new guanxi scholarship.” The China Quarterly 170, 459476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yue, Zhongshan, Li, Shuzhuo, Jin, Xiaoyi and Feldman, Marcus W.. 2013. “The role of social networks in the integration of Chinese rural–urban migrants: a migrant–resident tie perspective.” Urban Studies 50(9), 1704–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Xingna Nina, Wang, Wenfei Winnie, Harris, Richard and Leckie, George. 2020. “Analysing inter-provincial urban migration flows in China: a new multilevel gravity model approach.” Migration Studies 8(1), 1942.Google Scholar
Zhao, Yaohui. 2003. “The role of migrant networks in labor migration: the case of China.” Contemporary Economic Policy 21(4), 500511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, Ze, Wang, Jianzhou, Zhao, Jing and Su, Zhongyue. 2012. “Using a grey model optimized by differential evolution algorithm to forecast the per capita annual net income of rural households in China.” Omega 40(5), 525532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, Chen, and Guang, Han. 2007. “Gift giving culture in China and its cultural values.” Intercultural Communication Studies 16(2), 8193.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Fu et al. supplementary material

Fu et al. supplementary material
Download Fu et al. supplementary material(File)
File 47.2 KB