The Impact of the City-Level Intergenerational Mobility on Health: Evidence from China

Health inequality has attracted great attention in recent years in transitioning China. Using data from the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) 2012, 2014, and 2016, this paper examines the impacts of city-level intergenerational mobility on health in China and explores the potential mechanisms. We first find that city-level intergenerational mobility is positively associated with the individual's health outcomes. The estimation of the instrument variable and a series of robust checks all support major results. We also find this positive effect is stronger among the disadvantaged people who are less educated and those without social welfare. Further analysis suggests that family income, social interactions, and future expectations are important channels in the city-level intergenerational mobility-health nexus. The paper indicates that increased city-level intergenerational mobility contributes to improving the health of vulnerable groups and reducing health inequalities.