| Abstract: | The recent increase in marital migration in China among the rural population of the Beijing suburbs is examined, with a focus on the impact of uneven economic developments in villages and of different rates of population growth and distribution, fertility, and sex ratios. Findings are based on a survey of 1981 marriage patterns in a number of Beijing suburban communes. It is found that slightly over 50 percent of the women married within their communes, less than 20 percent married men from other suburban communes, and the remainder married outside the communes. The author observes that more women than men have migrated into the Beijing area and that marriage has been a major determinant of this movement. |
