The intergenerational mobility effects of higher education expansion in China

This study examines the possible effects of China's college expansion policy on intergenerational income mobility using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018. The results show that,first, higher education expansion policy does not significantly improve intergenerational income mobility. Instead, higher education expansion policy may increase the intergenerational income correlations in cities, and areas with abundant resources for higher education opportunities.Meanwhile, higher education expansion policy may trigger the transmission of intergenerational poverty in rural areas, economically underdeveloped areas, and areas with less abundant resources or opportunities for higher education.Second, both elite higher education and postgraduate education significantly improve individuals' income rank and intergenerational income mobility, but family background still plays a strong role in influencing the income rank of children.Third, there is a Gatsby curve in China in which an increase in income inequality is associated with a decline in intergenerational income mobility.This paper argues for the importance of expanding higher education while highlighting the limitations of this policy.