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Impacts of education policies on intergenerational education mobility in China

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  • Guo, Yumei
  • Song, Yang
  • Chen, Qianmiao

Abstract

This paper used the CHIP 2013 dataset to investigate the effects of two important education policies in China on intergenerational education mobility, including the Compulsory Education Law implemented in 1986 and college expansion policy (CEP) started from 1999. In general, our results reflect a relatively optimistic picture in urban China, but a less favorable pattern in rural areas. For the urban sample, both the Compulsory Education Law (CEL) and college expansion policy increase the probability of upward mobility at lower parental education level, and the college expansion policy further increases the intergenerational education mobility in urban China. In contrast, each of the two policies indeed reduces the intergenerational education mobility for the rural sample, and the effects found on upward mobility in urban China are non-existent for the rural sample. The unfavorable results in rural China can be attributed to poor enforcement of the policy or the lack of demand-side education reforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Yumei & Song, Yang & Chen, Qianmiao, 2019. "Impacts of education policies on intergenerational education mobility in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 124-142.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:55:y:2019:i:c:p:124-142
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2019.03.011
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    4. Huang, Bin & Zhu, Yu, 2020. "Higher Education Expansion, the Hukou System, and Returns to Education in China," IZA Discussion Papers 12954, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Ren, Yangling & Liu, Yixiao & Chen, Gang, 2024. "Associations of compositional time use with self-reported health, depression, and cognitive outcomes among Chinese adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    6. Zhang, Zheyuan & Xu, Hui & Liu, Ruilin & Zhao, Zhong, 2024. "Free Education and the Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills in Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 17314, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Huang, Bin & Tani, Massimiliano & Wei, Yi & Zhu, Yu, 2022. "Returns to education in China: Evidence from the great higher education expansion," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Wei Zou & Ruiqi Ma, 2024. "An Extended Family Perspective on Intergenerational Human Capital Transmission in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 1101-1139, September.
    9. Piracha, Matloob & Tani, Massimiliano & Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Zhang, Yu, 2022. "Higher education expansion and the rise of China in economics research," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Duan, Yide & Zhang, Haotian & Wang, Wenfu & Ao, Xiaoyan, 2022. "The effects of China's higher education expansion on urban and rural intergenerational mobility," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational education mobility; Upward mobility; Inequality; Education policies; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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