Abstract:

There is still some controversy over the effect of enclaves on migrants’ economic outcome in post literatures. Exploring this issue against the background in China helps to expand domestic demand for the “double circulation” strategy in the post-pandemic era, and also satisfies the essential requirement of the development of new style urbanization. Basing on the data of migrant workers in CLDS （China Laborforce Dynamic Survey） database, this paper conducts empirical research with the endogenous transformation model and tries to make clear the true effect of enclave on migrant worker’s income and its mechanism. The results show that enclaves increase immigrant workers’ hourly income by 50.8%. Although enclaves hamper the improvement of local skill of immigrant workers, they gain more spillover of human capital and supporting of social network. Moreover, the positive effect is more evidently in low-middle and high income, male, high-skill and self-employment migrant workers, with social network playing an important role. The findings help to understand better the role of enclaves such as villages and run-down areas in cities in the citizenization of migrant workers. Hence, we shall ameliorate the living conditions of migrant workers and promote their integration in cities, which is significant for policy-making.

Key words: enclave, migrant workers, income, residential segregation, economic integration