China's Hukou Conversion Puzzle and the Impact of Hukou Reforms on Migrant Workers

This paper examines "China's hukou conversion puzzle" -- although the state has enacted a series of reforms to lift the hukou restrictions over the past decades, the "luohu" intentions and behaviors of rural migrant in urban areas have fallen short of the state's expectations. By analyzing historical research and conducting interviews with 20 migrant workers, I provide first- hand insights on rural migrants' hukou conversion decision-making mechanisms. Furthermore, this paper studies the decentralized implementation of the hukou reform and how decentralization affects local governments' incentives and responsibilities to integrate rural migrants into their cities. Finally, this paper offers relevant policy recommendations to better integrate rural migrants into cities and identifies some potential challenges for meaningful hukou reforms in the future.