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Occupational dualism and intergenerational educational mobility in the rural economy: evidence from China and India

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  • M. Shahe Emran

    (Columbia University)

  • Francisco H. G. Ferreira

    (London School of Economics)

  • Yajing Jiang

    (Charles River Associates)

  • Yan Sun

    (World Bank)

Abstract

We extend the Becker-Tomes model to a rural economy with farm-nonfarm occupational dualism to study intergenerational educational mobility in rural China and India. Using data free of coresidency bias, we find that fathers’ nonfarm occupation and education were complementary in determining sons schooling in India, but separable in China. Sons faced lower mobility in India irrespective of fathers’ occupation. Sensitivity analysis using the Altonji et al. (J. Polit. Econ. 113(1), 151–84, 2005) approach suggests that genetic correlations alone could explain the intergenerational persistence in China, but not in India. Farm-nonfarm differences in returns to education, and geographic mobility are plausible mechanisms behind the contrasting cross-country evidence.

Suggested Citation

  • M. Shahe Emran & Francisco H. G. Ferreira & Yajing Jiang & Yan Sun, 2023. "Occupational dualism and intergenerational educational mobility in the rural economy: evidence from China and India," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(3), pages 743-773, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecin:v:21:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10888-023-09599-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-023-09599-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Olivier Bargain & Maria Lo Bue & Francesco Palmisano, 2022. "Dynastic Measures of Intergenerational Mobility," Working Papers hal-03896551, HAL.
    2. Hanan Morsy & Abebe Shimeles & Tiguene Nabassaga, 2023. "Structural Change and Inequality in Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 32(Supplemen), pages 228-245.
    3. Olivier Bargain & Maria C. Lo Bue & Flaviana Palmisano, 2021. "Dynastic measures of inter-generational mobility with empirical evidence from Indonesia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-70, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Gu, Xiang & Hua, Sheng & McKenzie, Tom & Zheng, Yanqiao, 2022. "Like father, like son? Parental input, access to higher education, and social mobility in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Educational mobility; Rural economy; Occupational dualism; Farm-nonfarm; Complementarity; Coresidency Bias; China; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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