| In the 40 years of reform and opening up,China’s economy has reached an average of 10% high-speed growth,and people’s living standards have improved significantly,but since entering the new normal,the economic growth rate has begun to decline,and China is facing the dual pressure of slowing economic growth and high income inequality.On the relationship between income inequality and economic growth,scholars at home and abroad have conducted many studies,but no consensus has been reached.Some scholars believe that the reason for the lack of consensus is that there is no distinction between the types of income inequality.Income inequality can be divided into inequality of opportunity and unequal effort,among which inequality of opportunity refers to inequality caused by factors beyond the control of individuals such as family background,household registration,and gender,which hinders economic growth;Inequality caused by differences in individual willingness to work is called effort inequality,which promotes economic growth.Based on the measurement of inequality of opportunity,this thesis further analyzes the relationship between opportunity inequality and economic growth,which can provide theoretical and empirical support for the literature related to inequality growth.This thesis first uses the CFPS database to measure inequality of opportunity and Shapley value decomposition to analyze the size of inequality of opportunity and the main economic system factors leading to inequality of opportunity in China.Then,this thesis analyzes the main channels through which inequality of opportunity hinders economic growth from a theoretical mechanism,and derives the simplified equation of inequality of opportunity hindering economic growth by establishing a generational overlapping human capital model.Finally,this thesis uses macro data from 25 provinces to make systematic GMM estimates of the impact of inequality of opportunity on economic growth in China.The empirical results show that:(1)Overall,the average level of inequality of opportunity in China is 0.36,and the degree of inequality of opportunity shows a downward trend from 2010 to 2020.In the sub-sample,the degree of inequality of opportunity in the female sample and rural sample was higher than that in the male and urban samples,and the family economic background,gender,and household registration were the main contributors to the inequality of opportunity,and their contribution to the inequality of opportunity was about 85%.(2)There was a significant negative correlation between inequality of opportunity and economic growth,with a 10% reduction in inequality of opportunity increasing economic growth by 0.9%,and no significant correlation between inequality of opportunity and economic growth was found.(3)The moderating effect of inequality of opportunity on income inequality was significantly negative,indicating that the impact of inequality of opportunity on economic growth was regulated by inequality of opportunity,and the higher the degree of inequality of opportunity,the greater the negative impact of inequality of opportunity on economic growth.Based on the above theoretical and empirical analysis results,this thesis argues that it is important to reduce labor barriers,increase human capital investment,and improve credit markets. |
