Spatial or socioeconomic inequality? Job accessibility changes for low- and high-education population in Beijing, China

Two forces can affect job accessibility: one is regional-level socioeconomic transformation that changes the total amount of job supply and job demand, and the other is intra-regional spatial transformation that affects the distribution of jobs and population. Transitional Chinese cities are experiencing accelerated changes in both forces, which may affect various population groups differently. Using Beijing, China, as a case study, the research tracks changes in job accessibility for the low- and high-education groups between 2000 and 2010 and examines to what extent the two forces affect the two education groups' accessibility changes. Results show that the socioeconomic transformation reduced job accessibility, particularly the for high-education population, while the spatial transformation stratified the city with diverging effects on job accessibility changes of the two education groups. Policies should consider both forces in promoting residents' socioeconomic well-being.