Research on the Relationship between Intergenerational Income Mobility and the Development Level of County Economy in China

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-787-3_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Intergenerational Income Mobility; County Economy; Social Capital

Abstract

Based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) between 2010 and 2018 and county-level socioeconomic indicators, this study examines the impact of county economic development on intergenerational income mobility in China and its underlying mechanisms. The findings show that: First, there is a significant negative correlation between county-level economic development and intergenerational income elasticity—that is, counties with higher GDP per capita exhibit stronger intergenerational income mobility, suggesting that regional economic development helps enhance the openness of social opportunities. Second, this relationship shows notable heterogeneity: intergenerational income elasticity is significantly lower in eastern regions and among urban household registration groups compared to central and western regions and rural registration groups, revealing structural spatial and urban–rural inequalities in intergenerational mobility in China. Mechanism analysis indicates that county economic development promotes intergenerational mobility consistent with an education-resource channel. and by leveraging higher levels of social capital (a moderating effect). Specifically, economic development increases the supply of educational resources at the county level, which in turn exerts a significant negative influence on intergenerational income elasticity. Moreover, in areas with higher social capital, the role of economic development in promoting intergenerational mobility is more pronounced. This study provides micro-level evidence for understanding equality of opportunity in the context of regional imbalance in China and suggests that, alongside promoting county economic development and public service equalization, attention should be given to cultivating inclusive social capital and breaking down institutional segmentation to achieve broader and sustainable upward mobility.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ziyun Wang
AU  - Zhe Li
AU  - Wenze Xiong
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/29
TI  - Research on the Relationship between Intergenerational Income Mobility and the Development Level of County Economy in China
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 4th International Conference on Management Innovation and Economy Development (MIED 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 68
EP  - 77
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-787-3_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-787-3_9
ID  - Wang2026
ER  -