社会资本会影响收入不平等吗？

Does Social Capital Affect Income Inequality?

摘要:

在市场化浪潮下,传统社会关系的经济属性日益增强,由此衍生的社会资本已成为影响收入不平等的重要因素。本文利用 CHFS 数据库2013—2019年的面板数据,深入探讨了社会资本对收入不平等的影响效应及其潜在的作用机制。实证结果显示,社会资本在缓解收入不平等方面发挥了积极作用,社会资本每增加 1%收入不平等下降0. 0053。即使在考虑了内生性问题后,这一结论依然稳健。此外,排除异常值和替换不平等指标进行的稳健性检验进一步证实了研究结果的可靠性。在作用机制上,社会资本可以通过提高劳动力流动性、降低风险厌恶程度和提升融资能力三种作用渠道降低收入不平等。异质性分析表明,社会资本降低收入不平等的经济效应在中老年群体及低收入群体中更为显著。

Abstract:

Under the tide of marketization, the economic attributes of traditional social relationships have been increasingly enhanced, and the derived social capital has become an important factor affecting income inequality. Based on the panel data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) database during the period from 2013 to 2019, the impact effect of social capital on income inequality and its potential mechanism of action are thoroughly investigated. The empirical results show that social capital plays a positive role in alleviating income inequality, with a 1% increase in social capital leading to a 0. 0053 decrease in income inequality. Even after considering endogeneity issues, this conclusion remains robust. Moreover, the reliability of the research results is further confirmed by robustness tests carried out through excluding outliers and replacing the inequality indicator. In terms of mechanisms, social capital can reduce income inequality through three channels including improving labor mobility, reducing risk aversion, and enhancing financing capabilities. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the economic effect of social capital in reducing income inequality is more pronounced among middle-aged and elderly groups as well as low-income groups.