Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2009, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (6): 60-84.

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Intergenerational Mobility Patterns, the Ideal Type, and the Chinese Reality 

Li Yu   

  • Online:2009-11-20 Published:2009-11-20

Abstract:

 Based on the literature review of the intergenerational mobility studies in the West, this paper proposes three mobility patterns of the ideal type and analyzes their institutional prerequisites and structural properties, hoping to shed some light on the mobility characteristics and trends in China’s contemporary society. The paper contends that different constitutional contexts and societal conditions produce different mobility patterns. Three idealistic patterns correspond to three different societal types, respectively. First, mobility under the mode of meritocratic contest, characterized by mobility opportunities distributed according to the individuals’ competencies and contributions, is completely congruent with a society under market economy. Second, mobility under the mode of status inheritance, characterized by the familial socioeconomic background’s decisive impact on the status quo of the children, transmits the societal structure of inequality across generations: The wider the unequal gaps are, the more difficult the crossclass mobility becomes and the more prominent the intergenerational inheritance is. Third, mobility under the mode of state sponsorship is characterized by state intervening social mobility through policies and institutions: Certain classes are specified to have more mobility opportunities or to be deprived of such opportunities that they deserve. This paper finally presents some basic conclusions about the changes and current state of mobility patterns since the start of the reform in China.

Key words: the ideal type ,  intergenerational mobility ,  mobility pattern
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tourism development ,  , postdisaster reconstruction ,  , binding development ,  , metaphorical politics