Hukou and Highways

China has used two main spatial policies to shape its geographic patterns of development: restricted labor mobility through the Hukou residential registration system and massive infrastructure investment, notably a 96,000 kilometer national expressway network. This paper develops a structural new economic geography model to examine the impacts of these policies. Fitting the model to available data allows simulating counterfactual scenarios comparing each policy’s respective impact on regional economic development and urbanization patterns across China. The results suggest large overall economic benefits from constructing the national expressway network and abolishing the Hukou system. Yet, the spatial impacts of the two policies are very different. The construction of the national expressway network reinforced existing urbanization patterns. The initially lagging regions not connected to the network have not benefitted much from its construction. By contrast, removal of the Hukou restrictions, which Chinese policy makers are considering, would result in much more widespread welfare gains, allowing everyone to gain by moving to where he or she is most productive. Removal of the Hukou restrictions would also promote urbanization in currently lagging (inland) regions, mostly by stimulating rural to urban migration.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Bosker, Maarten, Deichmann, Uwe, Roberts, Mark
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2015-06
Subjects:	LIVING STANDARDS, TRANSPORT SECTOR, CITY TRANSPORT, POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, ECONOMIC GROWTH, URBANIZATION, BIG CITIES, RAIL NETWORK, FLOW OF MIGRANTS, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORTATION COSTS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC SERVICES, HEALTH CARE, RURAL TRANSPORT, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, REDUCTION IN TRAVEL, DEVELOPMENT POLICIES, RAILWAY LINES, HIGHWAY SYSTEM, PUBLICATIONS, RURAL POPULATION, CHANGE IN POPULATION, AIR, POPULATION SIZE, TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE, DRIVERS, SPEEDS, KNOWLEDGE, DEVELOPMENT, URBAN MIGRATION, TRANSPORT INVESTMENTS, ROAD, CHINESE POPULATION, COSTS, ROAD NETWORK, EQUAL RIGHTS, POTENTIAL MIGRANTS, TRANSPORT, POPULATION GROWTH, INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM, INCOME INEQUALITY, MOBILITY, AIR CONDITIONING, RING ROADS, INDUSTRIALIZATION, CITIZEN, MIGRATION, POLLUTION, SERVICE PROVISION, CULTURAL CHANGE, TRAVEL TIMES, SERVICE DELIVERY, MIGRANTS, NATURAL RESOURCES, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, ROUTE, URBAN DWELLERS, INFRASTRUCTURE, LAND USE, RESPECT, PROGRESS, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION, MIGRATION FLOWS, UNEMPLOYMENT, HUMAN CAPITAL, CONGESTION, DRIVING, MIGRANT, TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION, POLICIES, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, POPULATION CHANGES, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, CONGESTION COSTS, POLICY MAKERS, ELASTICITIES, CHANGES IN POPULATION SIZE, LARGE CITIES, TRAINS, ACCESSIBILITY, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN AREAS, HIGH SPEED RAIL NETWORK, POPULATIONS, HIGHWAY NETWORK, RAILWAY, HIGHWAYS, URBAN DEVELOPMENT, POLICY, CITIZENS, ROADS, MIGRATION POLICIES, SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES, RURAL RESIDENTS, HIGHWAY, MINORITY, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, RESIDENCE STATUS, NATURAL GAS, RAILWAYS, POPULATION MOVEMENTS, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, RESOLUTION, INVESTMENT, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION, RURAL AREAS, HIGH SPEED RAIL, RAIL, INTERNAL MIGRATION, MIGRATION STATISTICS, POPULATION, INVESTMENTS, POLICY RESEARCH, URBAN POPULATIONS, ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, TRANSPORT COSTS, REMITTANCES, PUBLIC SERVICE, TRAVEL TIME, URBAN POPULATION, POPULATION INCREASES, HEALTH SERVICES, AVERAGE TRAVEL TIME, EXPRESSWAYS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/06/24738063/hukou-highways-impact-china’s-spatial-development-policies-urbanization-regional-inequality https://hdl.handle.net/10986/22231
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