Land Regimes and the Welfare of Migrant Workers: A Comparison of China and Vietnam
Abstract (summary)
This dissertation compares the land regimes in China and Vietnam, examining how these regimes shape each state’s extractive capacities and welfare policies for internal migrant workers. It traces how a seemingly minor divergence in land ownership at a critical juncture has significantly impacted the political economies of both countries. In Vietnam, state-building efforts, intensified by the Third Indochina War, led to a unitary system of state land ownership. This arrangement has unexpectedly limited the state’s ability to extract land-based revenues following economic liberalization. In comparison, China’s relatively cautious approach to land nationalization has enhanced its ability to gain land sale revenues, bolstering state capacity in general in the present day.
Reliance on land sale revenues, however, has also incentivized the Chinese government to reinforce a hierarchical welfare and household registration system. By tying urban welfare rights to property ownership, local governments increase formal property prices and amass significant revenues. Meanwhile, resulting from China’s dualist land ownership system, a large amount of informal housing in cities limits the cost of short-term labor reproduction for migrants. Furthermore, the tie between rural hukou and land rights in their hometowns curbs migrants’ incentives to fight for state-defined welfare rights in cities. All these factors contribute to the resilience of the household registration system in China.
In comparison, Vietnam’s unitary land ownership system blurs the boundaries among rural, suburban, and urban land. This leads to widespread land speculation that spans both rural and urban areas and limits the government’s monopolistic power in the urban land market. The limited revenue from land sales not only diminishes the government’s incentive to reinforce the hierarchical household registration system, but also weakens its capacity for welfare provision. Owing to their respective land regimes, while the Chinese government is unwilling, the Vietnamese government is unable, to offer substantial welfare benefits to all migrants. Each country’s welfare system is deeply rooted in its land regime.
Indexing (details)
Asian studies
0342: Asian Studies
