Mothers’ socioeconomic status and children's status attainment during the Chinese market transition

Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of mothers in children's status attainment process in Western societies. Using pooled data from two nationally representative surveys in China, this study investigates the influence of mothers’ socioeconomic status (education and occupation) on the status attainment of men and women in a socialist country and how maternal impact changed with the market reform. In total, 10,124 sons and 8984 daughters born between 1943 and 1985 were studied. Using chained multiple imputation data and linear regressions, this study finds that mothers’ socioeconomic status matters for both sons’ and daughters’ status attainment and, in the case of daughters, is as important as that of fathers. With the economic transition, the influence of mothers’ education has become more important for both sons’ and daughters’ education and can thus indirectly benefit their occupational status attainment. Mothers’ occupational status, however, has become less important for sons’ and daughters’ occupational status attainment with the transition, whereas the influence of fathers’ occupational status has remained the same. These findings suggest that the re-emergence of traditional gender norms that has accompanied the market reform has played a role in shaping the status attainment process of men and women. Since the reform, the role of mothers has been more restricted to the family domain.