Emigration as Family Strategy in Chinese Context: Emigration from Fuqing, China

Abstract

This study explores how family characteristics affect the emigration of family members from the city of Fuqing, China, a major migrant-sending area in China. We focus our discussion on three related questions: how family demographic characteristics affect a family's participation in emigration, the number of family members involved in emigration, and the locational diversification of family members overseas. Our findings show that family income is related to whether the family has any members overseas and their numbers. Second, a larger family is more likely to participate in migration. These findings are consistent with the argument that migration is a joint family decision. Third, effects of demographic characteristics of different generations on emigration indicate again that migration is a family matter. Finally, our Fuqing findings show no clear patterns of family members settling in the same country if more than one member is overseas. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.