Interrupted Ladders? Higher Education Expansion, Youth Aspirations, and Social Mobility in the 21st Century China

This paper explores the paradox of social mobility in China’s higher education expansion. Despite a sixfold increase in enrollment rates since 1999, intergenerational mobility remains limited, especially for rural and working-class youth. While access has broadened, inequality persists through credential inflation, labor market exclusion, and unequal family resources. The paper concludes by advocating reforms in funding, employment policy, skills-based education, and intergenerational equity to restore education as a credible ladder of upward mobility.