The Social mobility of Rural-Urban Migrants and its Relationship to social capital (The case of Study, Yasouj and Madevan Cities)

Subject Areas : Regional Planning

Asghar Mirfardi ¹ , Arman Heidari ² , Mostafa Amini Khoo ³

1 - Department of Sociology and Social Planning, College of Economics, Management and Social Sciences, Shiraz University
2 - Social Sciences Department, Yasouj University
3 - Graduate student of sociology, Social Sciences Department, Yasouj University

Received: 2018-08-11 Accepted : 2019-10-18 Published : 2020-04-20

Keywords: Social Capital, Yasouj, social mobility, rural-urban migration,

Abstract :

         Having expectation for improving socio-economic situations, rural migrants migrate from their main residence to other regions. The social mobility of migrants in purposive place is one of important debates in migration and social stratification. This research investigated the social mobility status of rural-migrants that entered to Yasouj and Madevan cities during 5 past years. Using survey method, self-administrated questionnaire was used for collecting data. The Krejcie and Morgan's sample table (1970), was used for sample size (364 cases) determination and clustering and snow-bulling methods were used for sample selection. Face validity and Cronbach Alpha (social capital= 0.90, social mobility= 0.88) were used for validity and reliability evaluation, respectively. Using SPSS software, multiple regression, Pearson Correlation, and ANOVA were used for data analysis. Findings showed that there is significant and direct relationship between social mobility and social capital of rural-urban migrant, and there is significant difference in social mobility according migrants' education. but there is significant and indirect relationship between social mobility and age of urban-rural migrants. Multiple regression showed that social capital, education level and age can explain 26.1% of the social mobility variance of rural-urban migrants. As a result, rural-urban migrants with more social capital and education level, especially youth migrants, have more upward vertical social mobility.       Extended Abstract Introduction:           Immigration is nowadays recognized as an important phenomenon in the distribution and composition of populations in different regions. Migration, especially rural-urban migration, is one of the factors contributing to the growth of urban population, and this rate is higher in developing countries than in developed countries. According to some studies, the rate of rural-urban migration in each regional hub has an inverse relationship with the level of development of that region or country (Jamshidi et al., 2018). Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals or families from one dignity or class to another dignity or social class (Azadanloo, 2007: 176), which can be horizontal and vertical, or intergenerational and intergenerational. Immigrants migrate to other areas with the expectation of an improved economic and social situation. Various theories on migration (Lee, 1966; Taghavi, 1992) have been presented and various studies on migration and especially rural-urban migration in the interior (Malek, 2009; Iran Statistics Center, 2011; Mirayai et al., 2017; Ghaffari, 2017; Zare and Latifi, 2015; Hosseini et al, 2018) and overseas (Charney, 1993; Felding & Halford, 1993; Lu, 1998; Shubin, 2013; Cui, 2015; Tian and Zhou, 2015). According to Ashraf and Benoazizi narratives, Iranian society experienced significant and significant changes in social mobility and individual mobility across the class pyramid of its population between the early 1920s and the end of the 1970s (Ashraf & Benoazizi, 2008). The social mobility of immigrants at their destination is an important topic in immigration and social stratification. The city of Yasouj, as the capital of this province, is one of the cities that have been heavily influenced by the executive policies of the Islamic Republic since the Islamic Revolution, and especially since 1986, its population and urban area have greatly increased (Noroozi, 2019). Yasouj enjoys a high tourist attraction (Mirfirdi et al., 2014) and as the center of the province, it holds important and comprehensive educational and academic centers in the province (Mirfirdi and Vali Nezhad, 2018). The two cities of Yasouj and Madawan are among the toddlers that have experienced an increasing migration trend in recent years. In this study, the social mobility status of rural-urban immigrants entering Yasouj and Madawan cities over the last 5 years was studied with respect to social capital variables and demographic variables such as age and education. Methodology:        This study considers the purpose and nature of the research in the category of applied research. In this research, a survey method was used to collect the required information. The statistical population of the present study was household heads (caregivers who are over 18 years of age and able to answer research questions) of rural immigrants who arrived in Yasouj and Madawan during the past ten years with at least five years of their migration. Using survey method, self-administrated questionnaire was used for collecting data. The Krejcie and Morgan's sample table (1970), was used for sample size (364 cases) determination and clustering and snow-bulling methods were used for sample selection. Face validity and Cronbach Alpha (social capital= 0.90, social mobility= 0.88) were used for validity and reliability evaluation, respectively. Using SPSS software, multiple regression, Pearson Correlation, and ANOVA were used for data analysis. Results and discussion:           The respondents ranged in age from 23 to 93 years; their mean age was 41.42 years and its standard deviation was 10.45 years. The least (8.8%) of the respondents had descending social mobility and most of them (65.9%) had no social mobility, 25.3% of them had ascending social mobility. In other words, a large proportion of the immigrants studied did not have a social base status prior to migration to the city and were in the same social base as before. Immigrants who were degraded in social status compared to pre-migration were the least number of respondents. Most of the respondents (71.7%) had moderate social capital and the least (12.9%) had high social capital. The internal dimensions of this variable have the same distribution as the social capital variable and the average level of these variables has the most respondents. This situation reflects the intermediate status of social capital and its constituent dimensions among rural-urban immigrants. The results of this study showed that social mobility has a significant positive relationship with social capital variable of rural-urban immigrants and there is a significant difference with regard to their level of education, but there is a significant and inverse relationship between social mobility and age of urban rural migrants. Bourdieu (2016) sees social capital as an important and decisive element in economic and social competition and class action. Social capital encompasses aspects such as social trust, social norms, communication and social interaction networks, social assistance, and social cohesion. Among the immigrants, these communication and social elements of social capital are of fundamental importance. Immigrants who migrate from rural to urban areas can experience economic and social activities that lead to changes in their socio-economic status if they are placed in the social communication circuit and have trust, norms and social assistance. Multiple regression showed that social capital, education level and age can explain 26.1% of the social mobility variance of rural-urban migrants. Conclusion:              As a result, rural-urban migrants with more social capital and education level, especially youth migrants, have more upward vertical social mobility. Young people, as actors more familiar with the elements and characteristics of modern times, are more educated than older immigrants and pursue future aspirations, are more likely to experience economic and social success and social mobility.

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