Return migration, rural–urban linkages and livelihood differentiation in ethnic mountainous villages of Chongqing, China

Abstract

Return migration is reshaping rural livelihoods in ethnic mountainous villages, yet household-level evidence on its implications for livelihood capacity and food access remains limited. Using survey data from 302 households across four ethnic mountainous study sites in Chongqing, China, this study examines livelihood reorganization among return-migrant households through a rural–urban linkage lens. We constructed three composite indicators—basic livelihood conditions (BLC), food access-related livelihood capacity (FAC) and food stability-related livelihood capacity (FSC)—and examined these measures alongside income diversity and household food insecurity outcomes. Return-migrant households were concentrated in part-time, non-agriculture-dominant and non-agricultural livelihood types, while pure agricultural and agriculture-dominant types were less common. Their income diversity index, BLC, FAC and FSC were higher than those of non-return households, with values of 1.0434, 0.5758, 0.6006 and 0.6127, respectively, compared with 0.9196, 0.5404, 0.5568 and 0.5717. At the village level, Huaxi and Xinjian showed higher income diversification and livelihood capacity, whereas food insecurity risks were concentrated mainly in Dahekou and Dazhai. In the full sample, the incidence rates of worry about insufficient food and food shortage experience were 4.30% and 2.32%, respectively. These findings show that return migration does not automatically generate resilient livelihoods. Livelihood diversification was more closely aligned with food access and stability where income sources were stable, rural–urban linkages were maintained, livelihood conditions were stronger and village constraints were less severe.