A case study of the household registration system of the People's Republic of China: With a frame of reference of the Canadian constitutional protection of inter-provincial mobility

This thesis concerns the economic and legal dimensions of the household registration system of the People's Republic of China. The study of this system in this thesis includes two stages of its development, from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s, the traditional household registration system and from the early 1980s to now, the modified household registration system. The former once made the voluntary internal migration almost impossible for decades in China. The latter is a result from the reform of the former. Due to a massive voluntary migration brought about by the institutional change from a planned to a market economy since 1978 in China, the Chinese government has carried on the reform of the traditional household registration system since the early 1980s.; This thesis also includes the Canadian constitutional protection of inter-provincial mobility. There are too many striking differences between Canada and China. But, it is worth noting that from some perspective, much of what Canada has now is what China is pursuing. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...