The effects of dialect distance on the migrant population’s settlement intentions: evidence from the china migrants dynamic survey

Based on the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (2017), this paper investigates whether the different linguistic environments effect migrant happiness and identity, and therefore further affect their settlement intentions. The empirical results show that dialect distance significantly dampens the settlement intentions of the migrant population through inhibiting their sense of urban identity and the social network renewal. This effect is contingent on migrant job types, the degree of Mandarin penetration, and the level of market-orientation in the specific region.