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What determines employment opportunity for college graduates in China after higher education reform?

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  • Li, Tao
  • Zhang, Juyan

Abstract

Using the 2005 placement data from two separate colleges, this paper studies graduate job allocation in China after higher education reform. Other things being equal, graduates with better college GPA were more likely to be employed (in particular by high-pay foreign firms) in both colleges. Female advantage in GPA helped to produce a surprising gender employment gap favoring female graduates. Our empirical evidence does not support the three alternative hypotheses of such a gap. Even though the job-market returns to GPA might be higher for women, there is some weak evidence that the job-market preferred male graduates over their female peers with similar qualifications. Pre-college urban hukou status and a proxy of father's education had positive impacts on a graduate's educational and employment outcomes. There is no evidence that father's Communist Party membership mattered.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Tao & Zhang, Juyan, 2010. "What determines employment opportunity for college graduates in China after higher education reform?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 38-50, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:21:y:2010:i:1:p:38-50
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    Cited by:

    1. Anni Kajanus, 2015. "Overthrowing the First Mountain: Chinese Student-Migrants and the Geography of Power," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(3), pages 79-102.
    2. Yilin Zhao & Feng He & Ying Feng, 2022. "Research on the Current Situation of Employment Mobility and Retention Rate Predictions of “Double First-Class” University Graduates Based on the Random Forest and BP Neural Network Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Bai, Chong-en & Chi, Wei & Qian, Xiaoye, 2014. "Do college entrance examination scores predict undergraduate GPAs? A tale of two universities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 632-647.
    4. Li Han & Tao Li, 2021. "Marketing Communist Party membership in China," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 241-268, July.
    5. Yang Liu, 2017. "Job Search and Labor Market Outcomes of New Graduates in China: Using the Latest Available Survey Data," Review of Economics & Finance, Better Advances Press, Canada, vol. 7, pages 66-79, February.
    6. LIU Yang, 2016. "Employment and Starting Wages of New Graduates in China: Using the latest available survey data," Discussion papers 16021, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    7. Hui Deng & Rui Du & Dongmei Guo & Weizeng Sun & Yuhuan Xia, 2023. "High‐stakes examinations and educational inequality: Evidence from transitory exposure to air pollution," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(3), pages 546-571, July.
    8. Zhang, Jian & Jin, Songqing & Li, Tao & Wang, Haigang, 2021. "Gender discrimination in China: Experimental evidence from the job market for college graduates," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 819-835.
    9. Merita Zulfiu Alili & Nevila Mehmetaj, 2021. "Employment of economics graduates: do grade point averages matter?," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 19(2), pages 210-226.
    10. Zhang, Huafeng, 2014. "The poverty trap of education: Education–poverty connections in Western China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 47-58.
    11. Liu, Qian, 2012. "Unemployment and labor force participation in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 18-33.
    12. Wenping Su & Miao Zhang, 2015. "An integrative model for measuring graduates’ employability skills—A study in China," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 1060729-106, December.
    13. Bjorn Gustafsson & Sai Ding, 2011. "Unemployment and the Rising Number of Non-Workers in Urban China: Causes and Distributional Consequences," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 201117, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).

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    Keywords

    Employment Graduate GPA;

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