Date:

2026-07-01

DOI Number:

10.18402/resci.2025.06.03

Institution:

城市与环境科学学院

Title of Paper:

以武汉市为意向地的高学历群体回流特征研究

Journal:

资源科学

Key Words:

hometown ties;return migration;Wuhan;educational ties;formal employment;highly educated groups

Summary:

[Objective] The return migration of highly educated groups represents a new phenomenon in China’s current population mobility. Investigating its spatial and demographic characteristics helps understand new trends in China’s population migration during the transitional period. [Methods] Based on the dual sticky effects of hometown ties and educational ties on highly educated groups, this study defined return migration of highly educated groups as their relocation to either household registration location or university location. Three types of return migration were identified: Type I, returning to home province after educational migration;Type II, returning to home province after employment migration;Type III, returning to the province of their university after employment migration. Building upon this, this study utilized 2020 recruitment data for primary and secondary school teachers in Wuhan, combined with models for spatial and statistical analyses, to reveal the return migration pathways of highly educated groups targeting Wuhan as their intended destination. Then, the spatial and demographic characteristics of this migration were analyzed. [Results] (1)The return migration of highly educated groups with Wuhan as the destination exhibited a concentrated pattern in southeastern China. It formed a diamond-shaped spatial structure, with the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing, and Chengdu-Chongqing regions as four key nodes, while additional nodal points included Shenyang, Kunming, and Changchun. Notably, the majority of return migrants originated from within this diamond-shaped structure. (2) Distinct regional differences were observed among return migration types. Type I migrants predominantly originated from the northeastern and southwestern parts of China, Type II migrants were more concentrated in eastern China, and Type III migration exhibited localized mobility patterns within proximate regions. (3) Samples characterized by“younger age, county-level birth origin, higher education attainment, elite academic institutions, recent graduates, and employment or study location in higher-tier cities”exhibit a higher probability of return migration. [Conclusion] Compared to international skilled migrants and China’s rural migrant workers, highly educated groups in China are more likely to gain human capital advantages in their hometowns or university locations, which strengthens local utility and fosters return migration through hometown ties and educational ties. Moreover, their return migration largely results not from aspiration failures but rather from a spatial re-selection aimed at maximum benefits, which has positive implications. © 2025 Editorial Department of Resources Science. All rights reserved.

Co-author:

余家怡,邱嘉怡

First Author:

高喆

Indexed by:

Journal paper

Correspondence Author:

朱媛媛

Document Code:

1973034958331187200

Discipline:

社会学

Document Type:

00001

Volume:

47

Issue:

06

Page Number:

0

ISSN:

1007-7588

Translation or Not:

No

Date of Publication:

2025-06-01