www.ccsenet.org/ijbm International Journal of Business and Management Vol. 6, No. 7; July 2011 How Rural Labors in Less Developing Areas of Northwest China Migrate? ----- Evidence from Pingliang, Gansu Province Haiying Ma (Lecturer) School of Economics, Northwest University for Nationalities Lanzhou 730124, China E-mail:
[email protected] Lina Lian (Associate professor) School of Economics, Northwest University for Nationalities Lanzhou 730124, China E-mail:
[email protected] Received: April 7, 2011 Accepted: April 23, 2011 doi:10.5539/ijbm.v6n7p276 Abstract This paper explores the role of local context on the effectiveness of overall employment strategy in reducing rural labor forces through non-agricultural rural employment. Compared to other regions in China, rural labor migration in Pingliang city, Gansu has owned unique characteristics. In the light of rural labor resource status, local government adjusts measures to particular conditions and seeks after the way for its rural labor migrations that is propitious to current situation. As a result, rural income has been improved, and local economy has been stable. My aim is to highlight the impact of overall employment strategy on less developing regions in Northwest of China. Based on my fieldworks on Pingliang in 2008 I present six migration patterns investigated in which local labor migrants succeed and its extension to other regions to tackle employment problems. Keywords: Rural labor migration, Pingliang city, Migration patterns 1. Introduction Migration, which can be considered a significant feature of livelihoods in developing regions, is pursuit of better living standards. Ever since the seminal work of Ravenstein (Ravenstein, E., 1899) numerous studies have explored various aspects of this pervasive phenomenon.