Transformations  in
Business & Economics

INHERIT OR FLOW? ANALYSIS ON THE DECOMPOSITION AND TRANSMISSION MECHANISM OF INTERGENERATIONAL INCOME MOBILITY IN CHINA⁸
Xiaodan Wang, Xing Jin, Mi Guo

ABSTRACT. Intergenerational income mobility is related to China's social equity and opportunity equality. It is an important indicator to evaluate the degree of opportunity equality in a country.
This research uses the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) of the years 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 to calculate the number of intergenerational income elasticity and test the transmission mechanism of intergenerational income mobility by using intergenerational income transpose matrix and multinomial logit model. The results show that intergenerational income elasticity is shrinking, intergenerational income mobility is increasing. Fathers' income is increasing through the influence of their education level and occupation status, then affect the intergenerational income mobility, the improvement of fathers' education level and occupation status can promote the upward mobility of intergenerational income. China's overall intergenerational income mobility has gradually increased, which has a promoting effect on social income distribution equity and economic growth.

KEYWORDS:  Intergenerational income mobility, social equity, income transpose matrix, income distribution.

JEL classification:  D01, D31, E24.

⁸Acknowledgments: This research is funded by General Project of National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (2020, Project No. 20BJL146). Corresponding author: Xing Jin ( jinx169 @nenu.edu.cn).