How social networks and provincial crime rates are related to the employment stability of migrant population in China

Abstract

Based on the “Dynamic Monitoring of Migrant Population” data collected in 2016 by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China, this study employs the probit model and the propensity score method to examine the impact of social networks on the employment stability of migrant populations and the moderating effect of regional crime. The findings indicate that social networks have a significant negative effect on the employment stability of the migrant population, whereas regional crime significantly moderates the effect of social networks on the employment stability of this population. The study also determined that social networks have a significant negative effect on the migrant population's employment stability with urban and rural household registration; this negative effect was higher for the high human capital migrant population than for the low one, and the negative effect of social networks on the employment stability of the migrant population was found to decrease with age.