Mountains and Seas of People: A Simple “New Economic Geography”-Based Simulation of Chinese Migration Trends

Ever since 1979, China has been in the process of implementing a huge number of reforms, particularly economic and social. A major consequence of these changes has been an explosion in the inter-regional migration rate, specifically the number of Chinese migrating from the rural areas to cities. In this paper, I use a simple new economic geography simulation to predict the effect of some recent demographic and political changes on the migration rate, and suggest a number of policy changes that Chinese city administrators might take in response. I conclude with a discussion of avenues of future research in these simulations, particularly in areas that could improve these simulations and their predictions.
THES
Economics
Dworkin, Larry
Sheppard, Stephen
2007
Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors In Economics
WILLIAMS COLLEGE
Williamstown, Massachusetts
1533