Direct and Spillover Effects: How Do Community-Based Organizations Impact the Social Integration of Passive Migrants?

Abstract

With the rapid process of urbanization and constant changes in ecological environments, passive migration programs have been popularized among many governments worldwide as a prevalent adaptation strategy. Poverty alleviation resettlement (PAR) emerges as one of China’s flagship initiatives, as the government has shifted its focus from investing in villages with harsh natural conditions to the construction of centralized high-density resettlement communities in small counties and peri-urban regions. The sustainability and well-being of migrants within resettlement communities play a vitally important role in the effectiveness of this program. In line with the integration theory, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and a household survey covering 287 PAR migrant households were conducted to analyze how community-based organizations (CBOs) influence the social integration of PAR migrants. The findings are as follows: (1) Both participants and non-participants in CBOs show higher levels of neighborhood interaction, behavioral adaptation, and identity recognition. However, no significant advantage is yielded by their economic integration. (2) The mechanism of CBOs impacting the social integration of migrants varies between participants and non-participants. The social integration of those migrants participating in a CBO experience increased through cooperation-based social interaction, adherence to organizational norms, and enhanced self-efficacy. In contrast, the social integration of non-participants in CBOs within the same community results from such mechanisms as service delivery-based social interaction, social learning, and community solidarity. Therefore, this article highlights the significance attached to developing CBOs as a sustainable development strategy for passive migrants. Additionally, to better support passive migrants in eliminating poverty, governments are advised to implement sustainable economic support plans through CBOs, with a particular focus on long-term employment assistance programs.