A Discursive Research On The1st Generation Migrant Workers’ Settlement Intentions In Jiaxing

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the key factors influencing first generation migrant workers’(FGMW) settlement intentions in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province from the perspective of habitus and social capital. Both habitus and social capital are sociological theories put forward by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. In this dissertation, habitus refers to one’s durable and transposable dispositions which are acquired from his/her social and historical experiences and displayed in his/her current ways of thinking, speaking and behaving. Social capital refers to the actual and potential resources the FGMWs are able to get from their social network in the micro and macro level in Jiaxing. The research will be done first via examining how habitus affects the first generation migrant workers’attitudes too their settlement intentions; second through exploring how social capital influences their residence intentions; and other factors such as gender, age, monthly income, etc are investigated to provide further evidences for the research findings; finally, influential common characteristics in their settlement intentions are summarized in the thesis.Research data was accumulated from questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The findings of quantitative analyses show that the increase in the respondents’ settlement intentions in Jiaxing is manifested in their transformed habitus and increased social capital, especially their weak ties. However the younger they are, the higher their education level, monthly income and length of stay all contribute to their likelihood of choosing to settle down in Jiaxing.Qualitative analyses show the following findings:FGMWs’attachment to their hometown is an important reason for them to want to return; life-style migration is possible to those FGMWs with residence intentions; social capital has different influences on the FGMWs’migration process and weak ties have greater impact on settlement intention; the desire to keep family together also is an influential factor.