Work

Education fever: inequality, fertility, and growth, with application to China

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Demand for skilled labor and social status accorded by educational achievements induce a race to acquire education, dubbed “education fever.” In conjunction with credit market constraints and in the context of quantity-quality tradeoff, this, in turn, may reduce fertility, especially in well-educated families, and create cross-sectional inequality while limiting intergenerational mobility. The resulting inequality is persistent, which, in turn, may have adverse implications for economic growth. I argue that these phenomena are consistent with recent economic and social developments in China.

Source: Journal of Population Economics

DOI: 10.1007/s00148-026-01154-2

Author: Mark Gradstein

Institution: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Language: English

Topic: Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,190