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Trends in social mobility in postrevolution China
Yu Xie1,2, Hao Dong1, Xiang Zhou3
1Center for Social Research, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; yuxie@princeton.edu dongh@pku.edu.cn.
Summary
Social mobility in China has increased due to industrialization but is now declining for recent cohorts, particularly for women. Despite this trend, overall social mobility remains higher than in the United States.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Economics
- Demography
Background:
- This study examines long-term social mobility trends in the People's Republic of China from 1949 onwards.
- It operationalizes social mobility through intergenerational occupational and educational mobility for cohorts born after 1945.
Observation:
- Data from administrative and survey sources were used to estimate mobility trends.
- Trends in China are compared with those in the United States for similar birth cohorts.
Findings:
- Intergenerational occupational mobility in China initially rose with industrialization but has declined for recent cohorts.
- Intergenerational educational mobility in China also shows a declining trend.
- Gender disparities are significant, with women from rural origins being particularly disadvantaged in earlier cohorts.
Implications:
- The decline in social mobility is attributed to market forces unleashed by economic reforms starting in 1978.
- While social mobility in China has trended downward, it generally surpasses that of the United States, with exceptions in women's educational mobility.
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