Human capital matters:intergenerational occupational mobility in rural China

Intergenerational occupational mobility often indicates inequality in society, and occupational mobility in rural China reflects the labour migration from rural to urban areas. Human capital is critical to occupational mobility; however, studies on occupational mobility in rural areas spanning over three generations, from the human capital perspective, are scant. This study analyzes data of three generations from Chinese Rural Development Surveys to examine intergenerational occupational mobility of rural Chinese households. Specifically, considering that the term ‘mobility’ refers to differences in occupation of parents and their offspring, this study examines education and skills training differences between the two as independent variables to ascertain their influence on occupational mobility, rather than simply examining parents’ education and skills training. A series of descriptive analysis and regressions confirm that education and workforce skills training are the key determinants that enable farmers to move upward in occupational status. These variables also influence the direction and distance of occupational mobility for rural households. This indicates that the government should invest more in human capital, especially by supporting increased access to both education and training.