School of Geography - Theses
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ItemChina’s intra-rural migration and its influence on rural modes of production: a case study of Lian Hua Village, Hunan province( 2019)This thesis aims to understand how intra-rural migration is associated with changes to the production activities of migrants in rural China. Extant research on intra-rural migration is highly limited. Moreover, the majority of studies on migration were conducted from an individual or household perspective and fail to directly reveal the influence of migration on rural production. In order to provide more evidences of intra-rural migration and its influence on rural production of migrants, this thesis tries to address three research questions: 1. What changes occurred in the production activities in which migrants partake? 2. What factors prompted migrants to escape their previous production activities and initiate emerging production activities? 3. How did intra-rural migration connect the escape and initiation process? This thesis examines intra-rural migration with a focus on changes to the production activities of migrants and posits that intra-rural migration influences rural production activities of migrants by mediating their access to production factors and changing production conditions they faced. This thesis primarily uses qualitative methods to collect and analyse data. Semi-structured interviews and direct observation was utilised in a case study of Lian Hua Village which is situated in Hunan Province. This thesis finds that intra-rural migration helps destroy the persistence of self-sufficient production activities remained in rural areas in post-reform China, and post-migration production activities of intra-rural migrants are capitalised from whichever aspect of their production. Separation of labour and the means of production and combination of labour and capital are the ultimate reasons prompting capitalisation of production activities of intra-rural migrants. Intra-rural migration acts as a bridge connecting the process of separation and combination. It is concluded that intra-rural migration leads to rural capitalisation and proletarianisation, and that rural labour chases capital. Both are important yet neglected means of realising the transformation of modes of production in rural China.