关键词: 收入流动性, 收入分配差距, 社会福利, 教育

Abstract: Using the data from China Healthy and Nutrition Survey(1989-2006), this paper measures income mobility from different views, and studies its effects on social welfare, then decomposes the income mobility from different income groups, finally analyzes the relationship between individual characteristics and income mobility. The results show: Firstly, the mobility in urban and rural goes down after a period of rising. As the income distribution gap is deep in China, the decreasing of income mobility could deepen the existing income structure so that form the Matthew effect——the poor will be poorer, the rich will be richer. So the income mobility doesn’t improve social welfare. Secondly, although the low-income group contributes most to the global income mobility, most of them move among the low-income group. Thirdly, people who have higher education level have less possibility of down mobility, especially for urban people. As a result, it is necessary to support the low-income group when making policies such as education and income distribution, so that the reasonable income mobility and less income distribution gap can be reached.

Key words: Income, Mobility, Income, Distribution, Social, Welfare, Education