Residential Choice Behavior of Return Migrants under County-Level Urbanization : Evidence from Sichuan, Western China

Focusing on county-level urbanization in Sichuan Province, this book analyzes return migrants’ residential choices across three dimensions: Willingness to Return Housing Purchase Behavior Residential Location Preferences Research Focus and Methodology First, based on human capital theory and cost-benefit analysis, the study examines how career opportunities, public service access, and migration costs influence the willingness to return. Second, using spatial analysis and nonlinear models, it explores the effects of economic characteristics and local environments on housing decisions. Third, integrating job-housing integration and family life cycle theories, it investigates returning families' residential preferences and their impact on urbanization. This book is innovative in both approach and method: It integrates multi-level spatial choices across county towns, small towns, and villages to uncover regional differences in migration behavior. By combining spatial differentiation indicators with nonlinear analysis, it reveals how personal traits and environments interact, showing spatial and group differences. The mixed-methods approach blends quantitative analysis with qualitative insights for a comprehensive understanding of return migration. Theoretically, this book enriches migration research by examining residential choices in the context of new urbanization, using large-sample data from China. Practically, it provides evidence for optimizing urbanization policies, enhancing county-level population retention, and improving living conditions for return migrants. The findings offer valuable policy support for advancing county-level urbanization and rural-urban integration in western China.