Economic Change, Disasters, and Migration: The Historical Case of Manchuria

In what is now the Peoples' Republic of China, the migration to Manchuria (Northeast China) from the Hebei and Shandong provinces in North China between 1890 and 1942 was one of the world's largest population movements. To examine this migration more closely, a theoretical model of migration is presented and used as a framework for analysis. The analysis indicates that, in most cases, a household's decision to send one or more family members to Manchuria was probably a carefully considered choice, intended to increase household income over a fairly long period of time. It also is concluded that modern transportation influenced the regional economies of North China and Manchuria and were far more pervasive than the size of the modern sector has indicated. In addition, it is argued that the labor markets of North China and Manchuria were closely integrated and profoundly influenced each other. Finally, major disasters and warlord conflicts affected the decisions of migrants.