This paper estimates the impact of the Free Education Policy, a major education reform implemented in rural China in 2006, as a natural experiment on the intergenerational transmission of cognitive skills. The identification strategy relies on a difference-in-differences approach and exploits...

This paper analyzes return migrants’ occupational choice upon their return to their home village, by using an original rural household survey conducted in Wuwei county (Anhui province, China) in 2008. We apply two complementary approaches: a horizontal comparative analysis of occupational...

It is widely recognized that intergenerational transmission is one of the primary causes of persistent social inequality. To what extent is a child’s cognitive development, which is highly related to their school performance and future labor market outcomes, impacted by their parents’...

Social interaction plays an important role in early language development, and family is considered a major arena for socialization. However, little is known about the potential impact of one particular demographic group of parents, notably those parents who were themselves only children. This...

China has surpassed the United States in patent applications and has become world leader. Strong patenting activity, however, did not lead to strong productivity growth. The delinking of patenting activity from productivity growth could be explained by quality and relevance issues. Although the...