The Intergenerational Mobility and Its Transmission Mechanism: A Literature Review
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| Title | The Intergenerational Mobility and Its Transmission Mechanism: A Literature Review
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| Author | Qin Xuezheng and Li Zhenghao |
| Organization | School of Economics, Peking University |
| Email | qin.econpku@gmail.com；lizhenghao0727@126.com |
| Key Words | Intergenerational Mobility; Human Capital; “Nature – Nurture” Interaction |
| Abstract | Social mobility lies in the heart of long term economic development. However, the persistent fast economic growth in China has been accompanied by increasing inequality in income and the deterioration of social mobility. The intergenerational mobility is the main component of social mobility, and this paper provides a systematic review of the literature on the intergenerational mobility and the associated transmission mechanism. We first summarizes the estimated intergenerational income transmission elasticity in different countries and the common methodological issues in the estimation; then we report the research results on the transmission mechanism and its impacting factors, with an emphasis on the “nature-nurture” debate; lastly, we propose future research directions based on the relevant studies in China. The paper has the following conclusions: the accumulation and transmission of human capital is an important channel of intergenerational mobility, and the nature and nurture factors (such as health and environment) also has a lasting impact on the intergenerational transfer of income and human capital. Compared to U.S. and Europe, the intergenerational mobility in China is relatively low, thus the research results summarized in this paper has potential implications in reforming China’s income redistribution system as well as the education and health care policies. |
| Serial Number | WP518 |
| Time | 2013-10-15 |
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