Who benefits from migration? Spatial mobility, class origin, and intergenerational social mobility in China

Spatial mobility has become an important mechanism through which individuals access new opportunities, yet its implications for intergenerational social mobility remain contested. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2012–2021 (N = 25,275), this study applies ordinary least squares (OLS) and multinomial logit (MNL) models to examine both the overall effect of spatial mobility on intergenerational mobility and its heterogeneity across class origins. Three findings emerge. First, spatial mobility is positively associated with intergenerational upward mobility. Second, its facilitative effect on mobility magnitude is significantly larger for individuals from disadvantaged origins than for those from advantaged origins. Third, spatial mobility shapes class-boundary crossing in uneven ways. For individuals from disadvantaged origins, migration mainly facilitates short-range upward movement into less-protected non-manual destinations, while access to professional and managerial positions remains constrained. For individuals from advantaged origins, migration has limited additional effects on class-boundary crossing, while their high-status destinations remain strongly associated with class origin. This pattern is consistent with the continued role of inherited advantages and closure mechanisms in structuring mobility outcomes. Overall, spatial mobility operates as a conditional channel of opportunity rather than a general mechanism of equalisation in contemporary China.