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China's Lost Generation: Changes in Beliefs and their Intergenerational Transmission

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  • Gerard Roland
  • David Y. Yang
Abstract
Beliefs about whether effort pays off govern some of the most fundamental choices individuals make. This paper uses China’s Cultural Revolution to understand how these beliefs can be affected, how they impact behavior, and how they are transmitted across generations. During the Cultural Revolution, China’s college admission system based on entrance exams was suspended for a decade until 1976, effectively depriving an entire generation of young people of the opportunity to access higher education (the “lost generation”). Using data from a nationally representative survey, we compare cohorts who graduated from high school just before and after the college entrance exam was resumed. We find that members of the “lost generation” who missed out on college because they were born just a year or two too early believe that effort pays off to a much lesser degree, even 40 years into their adulthood. However, they invested more in their children’s education, and transmitted less of their changed beliefs to the next generation, suggesting attempts to safeguard their children from sharing their misfortunes.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerard Roland & David Y. Yang, 2017. "China's Lost Generation: Changes in Beliefs and their Intergenerational Transmission," NBER Working Papers 23441, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23441
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    3. Insler, Michael & Rahman, Ahmed S. & Smith, Katherine, 2021. "Tracking the Herd with a Shotgun — Why Do Peers Influence College Major Selection?," IZA Discussion Papers 14412, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Guo, Rufei & Zhang, Junsen & Zhang, Ning, 2022. "How does birth endowment affect individual resilience to an adolescent adversity?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 251-265.
    5. Bai, Liang & Wu, Lingwei, 2020. "Political movement and trust formation: Evidence from the Cultural Revolution (1966–76)," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    6. Bautista, María Angélica & González, Felipe & Martinez, Luis R. & Muñoz, Pablo & Prem, Mounu, 2020. "Dictatorship, Higher Education, and Social Mobility," SocArXiv 6st9r, Center for Open Science.
    7. Gong, Jie & Lu, Yi & Xie, Huihua, 2020. "The average and distributional effects of teenage adversity on long-term health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    8. Bautista, M. A. & Gonzalez, F & Martinez, L. R & Muñoz, P & Prem, M, 2022. "The Intergenerational Transmission of College: Evidence from the 1973 Coup in Chile," Documentos de Trabajo 20503, Universidad del Rosario.
    9. Booth, Alison & Meng, Xin & Fan, Elliott & Zhang, Dandan, 2022. "The direct and intergenerational behavioural consequences of a socio-political upheaval," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 931-958.
    10. Liu, Yanrong & Hu, Feng, 2021. "Being bullied at school as a child, worse health as an adult? Evidence from China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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