Locational choices of Chinese overseas returnees: The intertwined roles of urban amenities and economic opportunities

An increasing number of Chinese international students are choosing to return to China after completing their studies abroad. Despite this trend, the factors influencing their choice of employment city within China remain understudied. Using resume data from the “Maimai” online professional social networking platform, this study illustrates the geographic distribution of Chinese overseas returnees. By employing a random forest model, we join the job-versus-amenity debate on human capital migration by investigating the relative importance of economic factors and amenities. The findings demonstrate that overseas returnees are predominantly clustered in eastern cities, particularly Beijing and Shanghai, forming a “dual-core and multi-center” pattern. Economic factors, such as the average annual wage and the average house prices, are the primary determinants influencing the choices of employment city for returnees. Urban amenities, particularly consumer and cultural facilities, and social atmosphere, also contribute to attracting returnees. These factors exhibit threshold effects, exerting significant influence only beyond specific values. Furthermore, the effect of amenities is largely confined to cities with higher average annual wages. This study reveals that the attractiveness of urban amenities to talent differs across locations with varying levels of economic development, calling for a deepened understanding of the dynamics behind talent migration.