Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Short-Term Impact of Involuntary Migration in China’s Three Gorges: A Prospective Study

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study is to measure the short-term impact of involuntary migration resulting from China’s Three Gorges Dam project on the 1.3 million persons being displaced. We focus on the social, economic, and mental and physical health impact using three sets of indicators. Using a prospective research design, we gathered information about these indicators from a sample of migrants first before they moved and then again after they moved. Changes in the migrants’ wellbeing during the period, when benchmarked to corresponding changes computed for a control group of non-migrants, are attributed to the impact of involuntary migration. Our results showed that although the displaced have enjoyed a relative gain in housing quality, most of the changes were in the negative direction and many of such negative changes were statistically significant.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A review of Chinese literature by Feng (2006) counts 133 publications between 1994 and 2003.

  2. The compensation is determined by a complex formula involving many factors such as location, size, quality, and types of land that would be submerged, size and quality of house, and transportation costs (Li et al. 2001; Yue 2007) and therefore is very unequal. It is also generally inadequate because it was based on dated assessed values without inflation adjustment instead of replacement costs.

  3. This includes second-hand reading of a large volume of Chinese writings reviewed in these studies but is not easily accessible to English readers.

  4. For example, only 58% of the displaced in our sample are resettled in a nearby location, the rest of them must either move to a distant location within the same county (17%), a different county (14%), or out of the Province (11%).

  5. Designated migrants are those who lived below the 175 m above the sea level line, a line demarcating the area that would be flooded upon completion of the project. Families which lived above the line were not required to move.

  6. The recapture rate for migrants was slightly worse (67%). Based on pre-migration survey, the missed migrants were similar to total sample in terms of sex composition, average measures of age, education attainment, household income, social support and subjective health, but a slightly higher CESD.

  7. We did include the designated migrants who had not moved as a separate group and compute the DID scores using non-migrants as the comparison group in an early version of the paper, all but one DID score were insignificant.

  8. Our accessibility to essentials scale has a Cronbach’s α of .84 for the pre-migration survey and .88 for the post-migration survey.

  9. The CES-D scale has a Cronbach’s α of .87 and .89 for the pre- and post-migration survey, respectively. The corresponding measures for the social support scale are .84 and .88.

  10. The exacting wordings of the three questions are: (1) Do you feel that you have made a personal sacrifice for the Three Gorges Project? (2) If it were entirely up to you to decide, would you be (a) willing to move or (b) rather not move? (3) All in all, would you say that the Three Gorges Project has done (a) more harm than good, (b) more good than harm, or (c) roughly the same amount of harm and good, to your family?

References

  • Allison, P. D. (1994). Using panel data to estimate the effects of events. Sociological Methods and Research, 23, 174–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bammer, K., & Newberry, B. H. (Eds.). (1981). Stress and cancer. Toronto: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beiser, M. (2005). The health of immigrants and refugees in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96, 30–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berk, R. A. (1983). An introduction to sample selection bias in sociological data. American Sociological Review, 48, 386–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. J. (1987). Self-selection and the earnings of immigrants. American Economic Review, 77, 531–553.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cernea, M. M. (1997). The risks and reconstruction model for resettling displaced populations. World Development, 25, 1569–1587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chongqing Statistical Yearbook. (2003). Chongqing. China: China Statistics Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clampet-Lundquist, S., & Massey, D. S. (2008). Neighborhood effects on economic self-sufficiency: A reconsideration of the moving to opportunity experiment. American Journal of Sociology, 114, 107–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Williamson, G. M. (1991). Stress and infectious disease in humans. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 5–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai, Q. (Ed.). (1998). The river dragon has come!. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duan, Y., & Steil, S. (2003). China three Gorges project resettlement: Policy, planning and implementation. Journal of Refugee Studies, 16, 422–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, X. (2006). Lao Di Sheng Gen (taking root: Social adjustment of three Gorges rural migrants). Wuhan, China: Huazhong University of Science and Technology. In Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng, X. (2007). Are higher response rates better? An alternative view on response rate. Sociological Research, 3, 121–135. (In Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernea, R. A., & Kennedy, J. K. (1966). Initial adaptation to resettlement: A new life for Egyptians. Current Anthropology, 7, 349–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleick, P. H 2009. Three Gorges dam project, Yangtze River, China. In The World’s waters 2008–2009. Washington, DC: Island Press, pp. 139–150.

  • Halaby, C. N. (2004). Panel models in sociological research: Theory into practice. Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 507–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, A., & Oliver-Smith, A. (Eds.). (1982). Involuntary migration and resettlement. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heggelund, G. (2004). Environment and resettlement politics in China. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, S.-S., Xi, J., Cao, Y., Feng, X., & Qiao, X. (2007). Anticipation of migration and psychological stress and the Three Gorges Dam project, China. Social Science and Medicine, 65, 1012–1024.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jim, C. Y., & Yang, F. Y. (2006). Local responses to inundation and de-farming in the reservoir region of the three Gorges project (China). Environmental Management, 38, 618–637.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jing, J. (1997). Rural resettlement: Past lessons for the three Gorges project. The China Journal, 38, 65–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasl, S. V., & Berkman, L. (1983). Health consequences of the experience of migration. Annual Review of Public Health, 4, 69–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, J. G. (1978). Nubian ceremonial life: Studies in Islamic syncretism and cultural change. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, B. (1998). General plan for population resettlement. In Dai. Qing (Ed.), The river dragon has come! (pp. 40–50). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, H., & Rees, P. (2000). Population displacement in the three Gorges reservoir area of the Yangtze River, Central China: Relocation policies and migrant views. International Journal of Population Geography, 6, 439–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, H., Waley, P., & Rees, P. (2001). Reservoir resettlement in China: Past experience and the three Gorges dam. The Geographical Journal, 167, 195–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, Z., & Zhongdong, M. (2004). China’s floating population: New evidence from the 2000 census. Population and Development Review, 30, 467–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberson, S. (1985). Making it count. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, N. (1989). Measuring depressive symptomatology in China. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177, 121–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, N., Ye, X., & Ensel, W. M. (1999). Social support and depressed mood: A structural analysis. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 344–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • New York Times 1999. Chinese journal boldly criticizes government’s dam project. March 18, 1999.

  • New York Times 2007. Chinese dam projects criticized for their human costs. November 19, 2007.

  • BBC News 2007. Deep concern over Three Gorges Dam. November 30, 2007.

  • Noh, S., & Avison, W. R. (1996). Asian immigrants and the stress process: A study of Koreans in Canada. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 37, 192–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padovani, F. (2006). Involuntary resettlement in the Three Gorges Dam area in the perspective of forced migration due to hydraulic planning in China. In F. Crepeau (Ed.), Forced migration and global processes: A view from forced migration studies (pp. 91–123). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • People’s Daily (Chinese Ed.) 1999. Chu Rongji on resettlement of migrants. May 24, 1999.

  • Porter, M., & Haslam, N. (2005). Predisplacement and postdisplacement factors associated with mental health of refugees and internally displaced persons: A meta-analysis. Journal of American Medical Association, 294, 602–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (1996). Immigrant America: A portrait. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qi, R. (1998). Is developmental resettlement possible? In Q. Dai (Ed.), The river dragon has come (pp. 50–62). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, K. D. (1997). China’s ‘tidal wave’ of migrant labor: What can we learn from Mexican undocumented migration to the United States? International Migration Review, 31, 249–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, W. C. (2003). Risks and rights: The causes, consequences, and challenges of development-induced displacement. the Brookings Institution-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement: An Occasional Paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rumbaut, R. G. (1991). The agony of exile: A study of the migration and adaptation of indochinese refugee adults and children. In F. L. Ahearn & J. L. Athey (Eds.), Refugee children: Theory, research, and services (pp. 53–91). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmond, C. E., Joseph, J. G., Prior, I. A. M., Stanley, D. G., & Wessen, A. F. (1985). Longitudinal analysis of the relationship between blood pressure and migration: The Tokelau Island migrant study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 122, 291–301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scudder, T., & Colson, E. (1982). From welfare to development: A conceptual framework for the analysis of dislocated people. In A. Hansen & A. Oliver-Smith (Eds.), Involuntary migration and resettlement (pp. 267–287). Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shami, S. (1993). The social implications of population displacement and resettlement: An overview with a focus on the Arab Middle East. International Migration Review, 27, 4–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solinger, D. J. (1999). Contesting citizenship in urban china: Peasant migrants, the state, and the logic of the market. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • South China Morning Post 2006. Chongqing seeks more cash to help three Gorges victims. March 9, 2006.

  • Steil, S., & Duan, Y. (2002). Policies and practice in three Gorges resettlement: A field account. Forced Migration Review, 12, 10–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tao, J. (1994). One hundred and forty questions about the three Gorges project. Beijing, China: Water Resources and Hydroelectric Power Press. in Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vega, W. A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (1991). Ethnic minorities and mental health. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 351–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wall Street Journal 2007. Three Gorges drama: Why chinese dam is forcing yet another mass exodus? November 6, 2007.

  • Washington Post 2006. China’s symbol, and source, of power; Three Gorges Dam nears completion, at high human cost. May 18, 2006.

  • Wei, Y. (1999). The hidden perils of migration at the three Gorges project. Zhanglue Yu Guanli (Strategy and Management), 1999(1), 12–20. in Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weng, L 1999. Environmental monitoring and its management of the three Gorges project (in Chinese). Paper presented at The Third Annual Seminar on Environmental Issues in China. Wuhan and Nanjing.

  • Winship, C., & Morgan, S. L. (1999). The estimation of causal effects from observational data. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 659–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (1994). Resettlement and development: The bankwide review of projects involving involuntary resettlement, 1986–1993. Washington, DC: Environment Department, the World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xi, J., & Feng, X. (2001). Post-migration adaptation of the three Gorges migrants. Statistics and Policy, 134, 20–24. in Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xi, J., Hwang, S.-S., Feng, X., Qiao, X., & Cao, Y. (2007). Perceived risks and benefits of the three Gorges project. Sociological Perspectives, 50, 323–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yue, F. (2007). Anmin Wei Tian: Sanxia Congcheng Baiwan Yimin De Lishi Qishi (The historical lessons of relocating one million Three Gorges project-induced migrants). Chongqing, China: Chongqing Press. (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, N. (Ed.). (1996). A study of three Gorges project-induced population relocation and development in reservoir area. Wuhan, China: Wuhan University Press. in Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Sean-Shong Hwang & Yue Cao

  2. University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA

    Juan Xi

Authors
  1. Sean-Shong Hwang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yue Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Juan Xi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yue Cao.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 7.

Table 7 Operationalization of Variables used in Tables 2, 3, 4
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hwang, SS., Cao, Y. & Xi, J. The Short-Term Impact of Involuntary Migration in China’s Three Gorges: A Prospective Study. Soc Indic Res 101, 73–92 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9636-1

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9636-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation