How Intergenerational Mobility Promotes Innovation
Intergenerational mobility is at the core of social mobility in a region,which represents social equity,especially the degree of opportunity equity,and constitutes a socio-environmental factor of great significance that affects economic activities.This paper first constructs a series of urban intergenerational mobility indicators based on population census data,then it uses patent data to construct city-industry innovation indicators,and finally it explores the impact and mechanism of intergenerational mobility on innovation.The study shows that intergenerational mobility significantly promotes innovation output,and this conclusion remains valid after conducting a series of robustness tests and using instrumental variables to deal with endogenous problems.Based on the exogenous geographical characteristic of the historical river distance to printed materials,the paper verifies the causal impact of intergenerational mobility on innovation.The mechanism analysis reveals,on the one hand,that high intergenerational mobility can attract highly skilled labour,thus optimising the labour structure.On the other hand,it indicates that this mobility entails a more open opportunity structure that encourages individual competition and adventure,thus giving free rein to entrepreneurship aimed at promoting innovative activities.The conclusion of this work suggests that intergenerational mobility is not only related to the solidification of class and social stability,but also constitutes an important factor affecting innovation.In order to promote reform through innovation,it is necessary to incorporate improvements in intergenerational mobility into the policy system aimed at promoting innovation.
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
