Fairness in Time: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of Perceived Fairness of Wealth Distribution in China, 2013-2023

• In Event: Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 17. Heterogeneity

Abstract

This study examines how Chinese citizens perceive the fairness of wealth distribution between 2013 and 2023, a decade marked by rapid economic growth, widening inequality, and high-profile redistributive campaigns. Using six waves of nationally representative Chinese Social Survey (CSS) data and applying Age–Period–Cohort–Interaction (APC-I) models, we disentangle the distinct life-course, historical, and generational dynamics shaping perceptions of wealth distributive fairness. Descriptive analyses reveal that perceived fairness of wealth distribution (PFWD) rose steadily from 2013 to 2021 before declining sharply in 2023. APC-I models confirm three patterns: a U-shaped age effect, with youth and older respondents reporting more positive views than those in midlife; period effects aligned with major policy interventions, such as the Poverty Reduction Campaign; and cohort contrasts, with pre-1950s cohorts more positive, 1950s–60s cohorts more critical, and post-2000 cohorts strikingly optimistic. Inter- and intra-cohort dynamics further show that earlier cohorts have grown more negative over time, while younger cohorts display stable or rising fairness perceptions. These findings underscore how perceived fairness of wealth distribution are shaped jointly by policy cycles and generational experiences, extending research on distributive justice from income to wealth and situating the Chinese case within broader debates on inequality and political legitimacy.

Authors

• Junchao Tang, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

• Xiaoguang Fan