Internal Migration and Cohabitation in China: A Mixed-method Study

Migration occurs at earlier ages, lasts for long periods, and profoundly shapes migrants’ experiences of cohabitation. We use a mixed-method approach based on the 2012 China Family Panel Studies and 127 in-depth interviews. To address potential selection bias, we estimated the treatment effects of migration based on propensity score matching. Results show that migrants, particularly rural-origin migrants with longer migration duration, are more likely to cohabit than their non-migrant counterparts. Qualitative interviews reveal the main underlying mechanisms: more liberal attitudes and less parental supervision in the receiving communities, a desire to vet potential partners in the absence of background knowledge, and economic barriers to marriage that make cohabitation an attractive buffer. Although migrants may cohabit as a sub-optimal option due to life instabilities and financial pressures, cohabitation also reflects a newly gained autonomy in their private lives, attributable to the liberal mindsets toward nonconventional family behaviors in the receiving communities.