By Yang Xiuna, China Development Research Foundation

Research Report, No.368, 2021 (Total 6433) 2021-12-3

Abstract: The last two decades have witnessed the downward trend in the income opportunity inequality among China’s residents. Viewing from urban-rural perspective, the opportunity inequality in population born in rural families is relatively more prominent. As time goes on, people’s income is increasingly dependent on their own diligence, choices and other acquired factors, which gradually weaken the opportunity inequality among the people. The phasing out of  income opportunity inequality among China’s residents mainly attributes to the deepened reform of household registration system and the reduction of population flow restrictions. But it needs to be noted that the parental characteristics have played a major and leading role in opportunity inequality, in which inter-generational education transmission cannot be neglected. Besides, individual characteristics including gender and age also beef up opportunity inequality. In this regard, work needs to be done to promote human capital investment equality by strengthening the corresponding public input so as to ensure that children with poor family background could receive proper education. Efforts are needed to remove all sorts of institutional barriers hindering the opportunity equality in all social sectors; supports need to be given to vulnerable social groups with inconducive living environment.

Keywords: income inequality, opportunity inequality, environmental factors, Gini coefficient