Hukou status, housing tenure choice and wealth accumulation in urban China

In Chinese cities, migrants with rural hukou, compared to residents local urban face more uncertainty, have limited access mortgage finance, and are less eligible for low-cost housing. A simple model demonstrates that these reasons, rural-to-urban likely own housing units in cities as a result accumulate wealth. Our empirical analysis examines nationally representative household survey from 2013 uses mother's hukou status an instrumental variable. We find heads about 20 percentage points than comparable hukou. Consequently, the average head owns 315 thousand yuan wealth 226 total The has 288 capital gains Moreover, we differences much larger first- second-tier stringent regulations, among younger cohorts.