Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2119424
The effects of education upward mobility on income upward mobility: evidence from China
Zhaobo Tang
Abstract
The effect of education on income has been debated in recent
years. We use the China Health and Nutrition Survey database to
research the relationship between education upward mobility and
income upward mobility. We find education upward mobility has
a positive effect on income upward mobility. The intergenerational
psychological distance which is a measure of the difference
between parents’ and children’s conceptualizations, parents’ social
capital, and children’s gender all have effects on this relationship.
To be specific, the positive effect is reinforced by a certain
amount of intergenerational psychological distance, but is
negated by an excessive amount of intergenerational psychological
distance. Besides, education upward mobility actively
increases the income upward mobility of rural-dwelling children
whose parents lack social capital, i.e., education is a key factor
that improves the income of children from rural families. In contrast,
education upward mobility only actively increases the
income upward mobility of urban-dwelling children whose
parents have social capital. In addition, the positive effect of education
on children’s income is more evident in boys than in girls.
These findings greatly advance our understanding of the beneficial
effects of education on the income, and will assist improvements
to be made in these areas.
Keywords
Education upward mobility; income upward mobility; intergenerational psychological distance; social capital
Hrčak ID:
306458
URI
Publication date:
31.3.2023.
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