Translated Title
Social Stratification and Innovation-based Economic Growth
Translated Abstract
Some giants of classic economics,such as Marx,Weber,and Schumpeter,emphasized the connection between economy and society and the impact of social factors on economic development.More recent research has neglected these interactions as a result of the separation of economics and sociology into different fields of research.However,the recent revival of interdisciplinary studies in economics and sociology and the supply-side structural reforms that China is vigorously promoting have lead researchers to reconsider the links between social stratification and economic growth.Classic theories of social stratification were shaped by Weber s social status(prestige)dimension,Durkheim s emphasis on the occupational community,and Parsons argument(Parsons was one of the key figures in modern American sociology)that status or honor is the most important dimension of social stratification.In economics,the second wave of endogenous growth theory that began in the 1990s highlights the central role of innovation(R&D)in economic growth.Combining these economic growth and social stratification theories suggests that if an economy s occupational classes have distinct levels of innovation,then the class structure may affect the innovation efficiency of the entire society.When innovation becomes the engine of economic growth,there is no doubt that an occupational class structure like the one discussed above will have a non-negligible impact on growth.According to Romer s product-variety model of endogenous growth,an economy consists of a final goods sector and a sector that produces intermediate goods,which can be viewed as the innovation sector.In this study,we introduce three stratified occupational classes into this economic model:the general workforce at the lower level,the innovation class(including entrepreneurs)at the middle level,and the public administration class at the upper level.The labor in the public administration class contributes to the productivity of the final product sector.There are differences in the utility of the social status and prestige of the different occupational classes in this model.Our analysis of this model reveals the mechanism through which social stratification influences economic growth.We test our hypotheses using province-level data from China;the estimation results offer some support for our theoretical analysis.In summary,this study s findings are as follows.First,a social structure in which the status of the innovation class is lower than that of other occupational classes,for example the public administration class,reduces the innovativeness of the whole society,which is not conducive to long-term economic growth.Second,the extent of the adverse effect of occupational class differences also depends on the role of innovation in economic growth.Third,due to the different status and prestige of the innovation and public administration classes,the selection system implemented by the public administration sector is likely to attract more qualified labor to the public administration class.The selection system may either reinforce or inhibit the growth effect of social stratification,depending on whether the selection system strengthens the occupational status differences.This study is only the first step in the exploration of the relationship between social structure and economic growth using economic research methods,and the study has several shortcomings.For example,in the theoretical analysis,the income and selection system of the public administration class is simplified,and in our econometric analysis we are not able to find a completely appropriate proxy for the differences in occupational classes.These limitations will be addressed in our future studies.
Translated Keyword
Economic Growth
Innovation
Occupational Stratification
Access Number
WF:perioartical7000673244
