Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2009, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (2): 147-161.

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Work Units’ Ownership Forms and Differences in Utilizing Social Networks for Jobs:An Empirical Study of the Migrant Peasant Workers in the Pearl River Delta

 XIA Lei   

  • Online:2009-03-20 Published:2009-03-20

Abstract:

Scholars at home and abroad who are studying the market transition in China have been focusing on the effects of marketization in China as well as in work units of different ownerships on the labor market. The present empirical study of the migrant peasant workers in the secondary labor market found that, with the occupational mobility increased, there was no decrease in these workers’ utilization of their social networks in their job hunt. They relied upon their ascribed kinship networks to a lesser degree but increasing their use of newlydeveloped social networks during their job changes. This study also found that the marketization differences among the work units of different ownerships affected the migrant peasant workers’ choice of jobhunting methods. Those entering the work units with a higher degree of marketization were more likely to get their jobs through the market channels, whereas those entering the work units with a lower degree of marketization were more likely to depend upon their social networks for jobs.

Key words: marketization, migrant peasant workers, social network, work unit