Multi-generational Educational Mobility in China in the Twentieth Century
Abstract: Two essential strategies to understand the mechanisms of intergenerational mobility are to compare mobility across countries and across time. However, for multi-generational mobility, estimates for developing countries are mostly missing, and trend studies are rare. This paper uses education to measure social status and provides nationally representative estimates of social mobility over three generations in China that are suitable for international comparison. Results show that grandparents’ education positively correlates with children’s education, controlling for the parents’ education. This grandparent effect is comparable to what is found in Western countries, despite differences in cultures and institutions. During the sample period, the correlation between grandparent and child education is relatively stable. When exploring mechanisms, we find that the observed grandparent effect is primarily due to omitted information from the parents’ generation, not direct interactions between grandparents and children.
个人简介：曹佳，中国人民大学应用经济学院讲师，爱荷华州立大学经济学博士，主要研究领域为宏观经济学，家庭经济学，劳动经济学等。在Journal of Population Economics, China Economic Review等期刊发表论文数篇。
Date: 2023-5-11
Time and Place: 12:30-13:45 Room 608