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Promote Equality of Opportunity and Counteract the Trend of Widening Income Gap: Thoughts and Policy Options (No.23, 2019)
2019-04-16
By Liu Xiaoge, Department of Development Strategy and Regional Economy, DRC
Research Report, No.23, 2019 (Total 5523) 2019-3-1
Abstract: Inequality of opportunity is one of the main reasons for China’s widening income gap, which is reflected in three levels: between families, between regions and within regions. Serious inequality in opportunities jeopardizes social stability and long-term sustainable development. At present, there is an obvious phenomenon of intergenerational transmission of inequality in China, thus promoting equality of opportunity is worthy our attention. In terms of time, the trend of intergenerational transmission of inequality has been increasing continuously before to decrease gradually, and reaches the peak in the population born in 1990. In terms of region, the trends of intergenerational transmission of inequality in the eastern, central and western regions were similar before 1978, and then began to diverge. There are significant differences among provinces. In a bid to counteract the trend of the widening income gap, we need to promote equal opportunities, pay attention to the early education of the poor children and eliminate the poverty transmission between generations. Stronger support need to be given to backward areas so as to ensure equal opportunities among regions. It is advisable to focus on the equalization of public services within regions, create a fair environment for education distribution and employment, accelerate the reform of the household registration system and promote people’s free and reasonable movement.
Key words: equal opportunities, intergenerational transmission of inequality, income gap
