The situation has been exacerbated by increasing rates of rural to urban migration which have, on the one hand, deprived the rural areas of agricultural labour and, on the other, increased the demand on the limited social services in urban areas.
Hukou reform, they believe, could boost rural-urban migration and with it the consumer spending China needs.
In 2010, 34% of rural migrant workers left their factory jobs to move back home, according to the most recent data available from the Rural-Urban Migration in China and Indonesia project at Australian National University.
However, it also suggests that such convergence can be expected to take place over many decades and, in the short run, enhanced rural-urban migration might even widen the income divide between the countryside and cities.
Recent conflicts and rural to urban migration that reduced the population of the region and changes in ways of life have caused a sharp decrease in the number of performers, resulting in the loss of many archaic styles and genres of solo singing.
Questions will produce hard data to show rapid migration of rural dwellers to the towns.
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The report highlights in particular the increasing phenomenon of migration from rural to urban areas, often as a result of drought or flooding in the countryside.
It is thought the outbreak was directly linked to Sierra Leone's past conflict, which caused a massive migration from rural to urban areas, resulting in overpopulation and poor sanitation.
In addition, the projects have also created employment opportunities for other community members, an aspect which has contributed towards rural development and combating rural-to-urban migration.
One reason is the high incidence of migration from poor, rural parts of South Asia, such as Mirpur in Kashmir and Sylhet in Bangladesh.
Some also think the statistics could reflect a migration of healthier women out of rural areas, leaving behind others who are too poor and unhealthy to relocate.
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Evidence suggests that migration reform might eventually bring about the convergence of rural income levels with those of urban levels.
With the country set to celebrate its lunar new year festival in early February, companies have already started scaling back production and tens of millions of workers have begun their annual mass migration from their factories and city jobs back to their rural homes.
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