| Summary: | A study was conducted to examine the long-term patterns of migration within China between 1950 and 1988. Data from China's 1988 2/1,000 Fertility and Birth Control Survey, which provided information about respondents' most recent interprovincial move, were analyzed. Results revealed a strong link between China's migration patterns and its political initiatives, including the Great Leap Forward, the drive to populate the northern frontier provinces in the late 1950s and 1960s, and the Cultural Revolution. This linkage continued into the 1980s as China's move toward a more market-oriented economy increased the mobility of the Chinese population. In addition, recent economic changes have moved large percentages of migrants to municipal provinces. The implications of the methodology employed in this study for research on long-term migration patterns in countries where historical data on migration are unavailable or unreliable are discussed.
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