Intergenerational mobility of earnings in rural China

Due to dataset limitations, the results from previous studies on intergenerational income mobility in rural China are inconsistent. Using panel data from the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey, this study develops a modified version of the model by Zimmerman Zimmerman DJ (1992) Regression towards mediocrity in economic stature. Am Econ Rev 82(3):409–429 and estimates the intergenerational earnings mobility in rural China. The new estimate demonstrates that intergenerational earnings elasticity is likely greater than 0.5, suggesting a relatively low rate of intergenerational mobility.