Published on May 29, 2026 – Updated on May 29, 2026
Location

Pôle Tertiaire - Site La Rotonde - 26 avenue Léon Blum - 63000 Clermont-Ferrand
Room 212

Research Seminar. Floating population: migration with(out) family and Chinese economic development


Clément Imbert
Sciences Po

Coauthors: Joan Monras, Marlon Seror, and Yanos Zylberberg.

Abstract

Migrants around the world leave dependent family members behind to cope with high living costs and restrictive migration policies at destination. Yet these features are absent from standard equilibrium models of migration. Using Chinese data, we develop and estimate a quantitative spatial model in which rural households choose whether to migrate, which members to send, where to go, and how to allocate their consumption across members and locations. We show that the ability to migrate without family is essential to reap the aggregate productivity gains from rural-urban migration. We also evaluate the effect of actual and potential housing and migration policies on migration patterns, productivity, and welfare.

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