Impact of Returning to Hometown Entrepreneurship Policy on Rural Intergenerational Educational Mobility

Abstract Intergenerational educational mobility in rural areas is important for social equity and common prosperity. A difference‐in‐differences model was employed using data from the five waves of the China Household Finance Survey in 2011–2019, to investigate whether a pilot policy encouraging the return of migrant workers and supporting their entrepreneurial ventures improved regional intergenerational educational mobility. The results indicate that policy implementation reduced intergenerational educational mobility elasticity by 0.067, implying higher mobility in pilot areas. The effect was stronger in central and western regions. The development of the tertiary sector and the improvement of educational infrastructure were important conditions for these gains. Two primary mechanisms were identified: reduced parental migration increased parental presence and support (the companionship effect), and higher household income enabled greater educational investment (the income effect). These findings provide evidence on the equity implications of entrepreneurship policies targeting migrant populations.