Migration Restriction, Rural-urban Migration And China's Urbanization Model

China's current household registration system is different from the household registration management system in other countries. First, the urban and rural residents are divided into two classes; second, the content of welfare rights are linked to this particular urban-rural dual system, this household registration system has also been used to control the domestic migration between administrative areas, in particular the control of rural-urban migration. It has resulted in China's rigid Urban-rural dual structure and also the unique migration path and urbanization models. The most prominent feature is the areas of rapid urbanization in China always had large numbers of immigrants gathered as the support, but the migrant who shows high mobility between urban and rural areas made the city's population base is not stable, and limits the upgrade of industrial structure, particularly the development of tertiary industry, which means difficult to improve the city function. Therefore, migration restriction had become the special background of China's urbanization, and can not be avoided. It has a profound effect on China's urbanization models So this paper would research China's urbanization models from the perspective of migration restrictions and examined the underlying structural and institutional problems.This study based on the dual economy theory, population migration and urbanization theory, institutional economics, combining normative analysis and empirical analysis, qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis, historical analysis and logical analysis, attempted to research China's migration restriction policy, the path of rural-urban migration and the urbanization models, especially the unique urbanization models of China's Pearl River Delta region. First, this paper studied the creation and evolution of China's unique urban-rural dual system of household registration and the path of China's rural-urban migration in the context of migration restrictions. Further, this paper analyzed the actual process of China's urbanization and the specificity in the context of migration restrictions. Then this paper in-depth analyzed the urbanization models of the Pearl River Delta region and summarized some typical characteristics. The actual path of urbanization in China is not strictly in accordance with the guiding of Urbanization Policy and this paper gave some policy recommendations based on the results.The main conclusions of this paper were as follows:1, China's unique urban-rural dual system of household registration has profoundly changed the path of China's rural-urban migration, so that in time and space came out a number of important developmental characteristics.2, under the backgroud of migration restrictions, the path of China's rural-urban migration has its specificity comparing with the international community. The size and speed of migration had long lagged behind the economic development and industrial structure. The labor force shows "migratory bird" type of periodic flow between urban and rural areas.3, under the influence of migration restriction, there is a strong consistency between China's urbanization and rural-urban migration, and the urbanization models has the new dual structure co-exist with non-dualistic structure characteristics.4, the actual path of China's urbanization deviated from the government guidance.5, under the influence of immigration restriction policies, the urbanization model of China's Pearl River Delta region can be characterized as a kind of External force-driven and Internal force-hindered unsteady urbanization model, and had typical "pseudo-urbanization", "semi-urbanization"and"sub-urbanization" phenomena. 6, Migration restriction must be reformed in order to promote China's urbanization.7, Urbanization can be uesd to adjust the development model of China's economic structure.