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Cross-border Im/mobility of Skilled U.S. Migrants in China: A Capital-mobility Framework
Dr. Yining Tan
Assistant Professor, School of Geography, Development and Environment
University of Arizona
Abstract: The number of skilled migrants moving from the Global North to the Global South has been increasing in recent decades. This study develops and employs a capital-mobility framework to analyze empirical evidence about the new international migration of skilled U.S. migrants to the Pearl River Delta Region of China. Guided by the literature on im/mobility and capital, this research asks the following questions: What affects skilled U.S. migrants’ mobility to and from China? How do they experience the dynamics of voluntary and involuntary immobility in China? The analysis shows that the level of capital accumulation and its transferability and convertibility influenced migrants’ mobility and immobility. In addition, the global outbreak of Covid-19 facilitated mobility for some while hindered mobility for others. This study discusses the differences between North-to-South and South-to-North skilled migration and conceptualizes im/mobility as a continuum experienced by skilled migrants during their migratory trajectories.
Bio: Yining Tan is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Geography and Development at the University of Arizona. Tan’s foci of research are urban geography, human mobility, highly-skilled international migration and transnational connections. Her dissertation develops a capital-mobility framework and employs intersectionality theory to examine the impacts of skilled U.S. migrants’ capital and intentionality on both (cross-border and everyday) spatial mobility as well as occupational and social mobility in China. Beyond the dissertation, she also worked on research that addresses the challenge of how to make cities more equitable in economic development, urban built environment, and socio-cultural integration. Her work has been published in journals including Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Asian Geographer, International Migration, and International Development Policy among others.
Yining Tan obtained her bachelor’s degree from Sun Yat-sen University in China, a Master of Planning degree from University of Southern California, and a doctoral degree in geography from Arizona State University.
ENR2 Room S107
Snacks starting at 3:00pm
Talk starting at 3:30pm
For remote/zoom option, email Mathew Wells