Social integration of new-generation migrants in Shanghai China

New-generation migrants, defined as migrants who were born in or after 1980 and whose household registration (hukou) status remains in their place of origin, are now the major migrant labour force in urban China. Most of them start migration immediately after full-time education and have a great desire of becoming urban citizens. While previous studies focus on inequalities experienced by migrants as a result of the hukou institution, migrants’ social integration in the city is under-researched. Drawing on data from a questionnaire survey of new-generation migrants in Shanghai in 2012, this paper employs a structural equation model to examine the extent to which new-generation migrants are integrated into the urban society and the factors influencing their integration. The results show that both labour market outcomes and interaction with local urban residents are crucial for their social integration. These individual factors have deep roots in structural and institutional constraints which prevent migrants from getting access to opportunities and resources.