Childhood Health and Social Class Reproduction

In previous studies on social stratification and mobility， education is considered as the core mediatory mechanism in social reproduction and mobility. This paper， however, investigates how childhood health affects social stratification. Using data from Urbanization and Labor Migrant National Survey (2012)， this study examines the effects of nutrition， hygiene， and health before age 14 on adult socioeconomic status， including education， first job ISEI， current job ISEI， and family income per head. The SEM results show that the nutrition intake (whether one experienced starvation and the frequency of fish and meat intake) and hygiene (indicated by the source of drinking water and the toilet type) have significant effect on adult socioeconomic status. However， the effects change at different life course stages. Moreover， childhood health (indicated by adult height) has significant impact on adult socioeconomic status attainment， but no significant impact on first job ISEI and current job ISEI. We conclude that investment in childhood health is an important mechanism affecting social class reproduction and mobility. Therefore， health intervention for children from poor and disadvantaged families are necessary. It will benefit children’s education and encourage upward mobility.

洪岩璧、刘精明

本文系教育部人文社会科学青年项目“教育影响城镇居民健康的中介机制研究”（15YJC840009）和国家社科青年基金“早期健康状况对阶层固化的影响机制及对策研究”（17CSH063）阶段性成果，得到江苏省“公民道德与社会风尚‘2011’协同创新中心”、“道德发展智库”支持。

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