Higher Education Expansion and Social Stratification in China

This article explores the extent to which the impact of family background and gender on one's access to college education changed after the 1999 college expansion policy in China. The analysis is based on data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) collected between 2005 and 2008. The results show that, although the expansion has been an equalizing force in that it allows more youths of different characteristics to attain college education than in prereform regime, intergenerational inequality persisted. Youth from more socioeconomically advantaged families maintain their edge by obtaining more and higher quality education than others. The influence of family background, as indicated by fathers' education, becomes stronger on youths' access to academic colleges after the college expansion policy. The gender gap in college attendance disappears and even reverses itself. However, the female advantage is greater in attending the short-cycle program colleges than in academic colleges.