Abstract：This paper divides Chinese cities into 5 categories:the 1st tier includes 4 cities as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou; the 2nd tier includes the other provincial cities, sub-provincial cities and province capitals; the 3rd tier is defined as big cities with a population more than 1 million; the 4th tier is medium and small sized cities and rural areas are defined as the 5th tier. The paper analyzes the employment location choice preference of college students among the 5 region tiers and its determinants, using individual survey data from more than 1600 college students from 10 universities which are located in 7 cities across the country. A migration pattern, which is a one-way bottom-up flow from lower tier regions to higher tier regions, is revealed by the data analysis. A multinomial logit model shows that students divide the labor market region dichotomously based on their original cities. This empirical result supports the dual labor market theory from a spatial perspective. This indicates that Chinese college graduates are domestic and economic well-being oriented in terms of employment migration, which is in line with the assumption of economic opportunity theory. Lastly, the paper gives administrative advice to guide college students' employment migration:firstly, universities can function as potential catalysts for "brain gain" in regional development and recruiting students from lower region tiers (i.e. less developed medium-sized to small cities and rural areas) helps retain local intelligence in these areas. Secondly, a lower entry point of residential status (hukou) to graduates' family members and a family friendly environment will help lower region tiers attract well-educated labor since family factor is a quite important determinant for location choice. The provision of social service such as medical service, education, social welfare should be strengthened as well as a strategy to solve the "brain drain" problem. Thirdly, guiding university graduates to adjust their personal beliefs and economic values is an effective approach to promote a more diversified employment location choice.
何仲禹, 翟国方. 我国大学生就业城市选择意愿及其影响因素分析[J]. 人文地理, 2015, 30(2): 37-42,102.
HE Zhong-yu, ZHAI Guo-fang. EMPLOYMENT LOCATION CHOICE OF CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS AND ITS DETERMINANTS. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, 2015, 30(2): 37-42,102.
