The Impact of Urban Public Services on the Residence Intentions of Migrant Entrepreneurs in the Western Region of China

Abstract

Balanced regional development affects high-quality and sustainable development. Previous studies have shown that regional talent allocation, technology business incubators, industrial ecology, cross-regional cooperation, and balanced investment in higher education have positive effects on sustained regional development. Therefore, discussing more influencing factors that promote regionally balanced development is necessary. As far as China is concerned, with the spread of the migrant population to the central and western regions, it is of certain significance to explore the factors affecting the development of the western region from the perspective of migrant entrepreneurs’ flow. Urban public services, as an important way for the government to attract talent, directly affect the residence intentions of migrant entrepreneurs in the future. This paper uses the matching data of the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey and 289 prefecture-level city data from the China City Statistical Yearbook to study the impact of urban public services in the western region on the residence intention of migrant entrepreneurs and further examines the heterogeneous impact of urban public services in the western region on the residence intention of migrant entrepreneurs. We find that urban public services in the western region significantly affect the residence intention of migrant entrepreneurs; that is, the higher the level of urban public services, the stronger the residence intention of migrant entrepreneurs. According to the heterogeneity analysis of household registration differences, generational differences, family structure differences, employment identity differences, and industry and flow range differences, this paper finds that public services have a positive impact on the residence intention of non-urban migrant entrepreneurs, the older generation of migrant entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs with small family structures, migrant entrepreneurs in low-tech industries, self-employed entrepreneurs, cross-province migration, and intra-province migrant entrepreneurs. Further analysis indicates that the level of education, culture, medical care, and transportation services in cities significantly enhances the permanent residence intentions of migrant entrepreneurs. The research conclusion not only provides reference and inspiration for China to achieve common prosperity through entrepreneurship and poverty reduction practices, but it can also, to some extent, alleviate population aggregation in large cities and promote the formation of a scientific and reasonable urbanization pattern. In addition, this paper explores the attractiveness of public services to migrant entrepreneurs in the western region of China from the perspective of entrepreneurs’ mobility and complements the relevant research on promoting regional balanced development.