Since the mid-1980s, mass migration from the countryside to urban areas has been one of the most dramatic and noticeable changes in China. Labour migration has not only exerted a profound impact on China's economy; it has also had far-reaching consequences for its social development. This book examines labour migration in China, focusing in particular on the social dimensions of this phenomenon. Providing comprehensive coverage of the aspects of labour migration most pertinent to social development, it explores the role of labour migration in poverty alleviation; the uses and costs of remittances and the implications for generational and gender inequalities within families; the reform of urban social security and medical insurance systems to include migrants; the provision of schools for migrants' children; the provision of reproductive and sexual health services to migrants; the mobilization of women workers' social networks to improve factory conditions; and the role of NGOs in providing social services for migrants.Throughout, it considers the impact of the recent policy shift of the Chinese government, which has made social issues more central to national development policies, under the theme of achieving a "harmonious society", and has initiated policy reforms pertaining to migration.