Hukou Status and Children’s Education in China

Yue Sun, Liqiu Zhao and Zhong Zhao

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2025, vol. 73, issue 2, 979 - 1021

Abstract: This paper investigates the causal effect of hukou status on children’s education. Before the hukou reform in 1998, children could inherit only their mother’s hukou status. After 1998, newborns and preschoolers could inherit either their father’s or mother’s hukou status, creating a unique exogenous opportunity for children who have urban fathers and rural mothers to obtain urban hukou. Our findings reveal that the younger cohorts exposed to the reform are 18.9 percentage points more likely to be at the appropriate grade level for their age. Moreover, the effect is more pronounced among girls and children from educated families or large cities.

Date: 2025
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Related works:
Working Paper: Hukou Status and Children's Education in China (2024)
Working Paper: Hukou status and children's education in China (2024)
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