This paper focuses on the relationship between individuals’ risk preferences and their migration status.The decision to relocate to a new environment naturally involves uncertainty,e.g., regarding prospects on the labor market,income , housing and lifestyles , especially at the beginning of the relocation. The study was conducted in China, where the current rural -urban labor migration flows are the largest in the history of humanity. The scale of migration continued to rise, with the number of migrants surpassing 260 million in the year 2012 alone. The results suggest that migration may be driven more by a stronger belief in one’s ability to succeed in an uncertain and competitive environment than by risk attitudes under state uncertainty.
URL : 20140611051722.pdf