Accommodating China's Floating Population: Local Variations and Determinants of Housing Policies for Rural Migrant Workers

Abstract What are the various ways in which local governments China accommodate migrants through housing policies, and what forces that drive these variations? Through systematic coding of policy documents from 97 prefecture-level cities, this study captures patterns migrant policies using cluster analysis. We found 18.6 per cent cities adopted a residual approach. Most rental-based approach (public private rental, collective rental) could only meet migrants’ short-term needs. Only few (12.4 cent) citizenship-oriented approach, best fits central government's overarching goal facilitating workers’ long-term settlement host cities. Regression analyses examining determinants showed variations were not shaped by economic political concerns but also salience urban issues (problem-solving functions) previous welfare generosity (path-dependency tendencies).