This book explores the interactions between social policy and migration in China. Using a theoretical framework of institutional economics, Lida Fan's discussion examines migration regulations, household registration, social welfare and insurance, employment, education, housing, medical care and industrial strategies with a view to answering the following questions:

In posing and answering these questions the book traces the vicissitude of the formation of the household registration system (hukou) and other policies accompanying the hukou system since the beginning of the People's Republic of China. The author concludes with proposals for institutional change in China's migration policy, advocating the desirability of social justice perspectives and its feasibility in the current socio-economic structure.