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

41 Pages Posted: 30 Sep 2016 Last revised: 10 Oct 2016

See all articles by Gérard Roland

Gérard Roland

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

David Yang

Stanford University - Department of Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 4 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 7, 2016

Abstract

Beliefs about whether effort pays off govern some of the most fundamental choices individual make. This paper uses China’s Cultural Revolution to understand how these beliefs can be affected, how they impact behaviors, 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 employ a pseudo-RD design to 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 such changed beliefs to the next generation, suggesting attempts to safeguard their children from sharing their misfortunes.

Suggested Citation

Roland, Gérard and Yang, David, China's Lost Generation: Changes in Beliefs and Their Intergenerational Transmission (October 7, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2845189 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2845189

Gérard Roland

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics ( email )

549 Evans Hall #3880
Berkeley, CA 94720-3880
United States
510-642-4321 (Phone)
510-642-6615 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

David Yang (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Department of Economics ( email )

Landau Economics Building
579 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6072
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
56
Abstract Views
621
Rank
319,049
PlumX Metrics