2025/04/21 by Feng Yang, Airan Liu, Wangyang Li · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies #Youth Education and Societal Dynamics #Social Policy and Reform Studies
paper · doi:10.1017/s030574102500030x
openalex publication_date 2025/04/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Perceived intergenerational mobility profoundly influences individual attitudes and behaviour, carrying important implications for social stability and development. How do Chinese citizens perceive the intergenerational persistence of family advantages, and how do these perceptions compare with reality? This study conducts multiple randomized vignette experiments across two online surveys to assess public perceptions of correlations between various socio-economic indicators of parents and their children. Respondents estimate moderate to moderately strong correlations across generations. By leveraging the comparability of perceptions and objective estimates made possible by our novel measurement instrument, we find that respondents often overestimate the likelihood of equal opportunities for children from families with differing educational backgrounds. Alongside these largely optimistic perceptions, we also uncover signs of emerging pessimism. These results offer a nuanced snapshot of perceived social mobility in China, highlighting its multidimensional manifestations and divergence from reality, while also providing methodological insights for future research on its evolving dynamics.