Crossing The Boundary Of Identity:A Study On The Action Strategies Of Highly Educated Migrants In A Megacity

Since the 1990 s,due to the needs of social and economic development and the pressure of continuing negative natural growth of the registered population,Shanghai has introduced a series of hukou policies to attract highly educated migrants,but in fact this gradual reform to the household registration system,even for the highly educated migrants,the channels leading to hukou are not only narrow but also increasingly long.Moreover,the larger the city is,the higher the hukou value is,and the household registration system and its attached social security system establish an identity boundary with an inclusion/exclusion mechanism based on the household registration status and the corresponding citizenship.In this context,this paper attempts to study the action strategies of the highly educated migrants in megacities,taking non-Shanghai hukou college graduates as an example.This paper focuses on the social boundary mechanism of urban hukou,drawing from Charles Tilly's theory of “identity,boundary and social connection” and discusses the “identity,boundary and cross-border action strategy” of the highly educated migrants.The action strategy of highly educated migrants to cross the boundaries of urban hukou status is a career and process that strives to cope,adjust,and overcome exclusion.Its action strategy is carried out in the specific field of the social border mechanism,in the interaction of the changing inclusion and exclusion forces,and finally realizes the transformation of social identity.In the process of crossing the boundary,including the construction significance of the highly educated migrants to settle down,its action objectives,motivations and action strategies are constantly adjusted and changed.This active and selective response to the hukou policy makes the highly educated migrants become the “driven strategist” in the process of crossing the identity boundary.However,it is not easy for the highly educated floating population to cross the urban hukou status.It is necessary to continue to pay a highprice in the identity market.After completing a series of “additional payments”,the establishment and recognition of the new citizenship can be realized.