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What Can Students Gain from China's Higher Education?

Author

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  • Hongbin Li
  • Huan Wang
  • Claire Cousineau
  • Matthew Boswell

Abstract

China's higher education system has undergone a rapid expansion over the last two decades. By drawing on hand‐collected data, we explore students' experiences in college and in the labor market post‐graduation in the wake of this expansion. According to our data, the largest employer of college graduates in the labor market was the state sector, followed by the domestic private sector. To explain the returns to college education in China, we explore three mechanisms: human capital, social networks, and signaling. We find that human capital measures, apart from a student's college English test scores, cannot explain the college wage premium, whereas both social networks (for example, membership of the Communist Party) and signaling matter significantly. This seems to indicate that in China, connections are crucial for student success in the labor market, whereas the higher education system itself is more a system for selecting talented individuals than it is for educating them. Finally, students allocate their time accordingly, for example, by spending more time studying English in college than any other subject.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongbin Li & Huan Wang & Claire Cousineau & Matthew Boswell, 2023. "What Can Students Gain from China's Higher Education?," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 18(2), pages 287-304, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:asiapr:v:18:y:2023:i:2:p:287-304
    DOI: 10.1111/aepr.12426
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Haizheng Li, 2023. "Comment on “What Can Students Gain from China's Higher Education?”," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 18(2), pages 307-308, July.
    2. Wei Ha, 2023. "Comment on “What Can Students Gain from China's Higher Education?”," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 18(2), pages 305-306, July.
    3. Takatoshi Ito & Kazumasa Iwata & Colin McKenzie & Shujiro Urata, 2023. "Higher Education: Editors' Overview," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 18(2), pages 149-170, July.

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