IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v30y2014icp290-300.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic returns to English proficiency for college graduates in mainland China

Author

Listed:
  • Guo, Qian
  • Sun, Wenkai

Abstract

The present study examines the economic returns to English proficiency for college graduates in Mainland China, paths through which English proficiency may affect earnings, and possible moderation effects and crowding-out effects of English proficiency on other human capital. The analysis results indicate that English proficiency had significant effects on college graduates' starting salaries, their probability of changing permanent residence status from rural to urban, and their future earning potential. Possible reasons for the economic returns to English proficiency include increased chances of working in the employment sector where the average income was higher than in the other sectors and improved opportunities of landing job interviews. English proficiency may mitigate the effects of GPA rankings on salaries. Meanwhile, it did not seem to have been achieved at the expense of other important human capital investments. The results have policy implications as well as contributing to the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Qian & Sun, Wenkai, 2014. "Economic returns to English proficiency for college graduates in mainland China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 290-300.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:30:y:2014:i:c:p:290-300
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2014.07.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X14000935
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2014.07.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul W. Miller & Barry R. Chiswick, 2002. "Immigrant earnings: Language skills, linguistic concentrations and the business cycle," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 15(1), pages 31-57.
    2. Jacob Mincer & Solomon Polachek, 1974. "Family Investments in Human Capital: Earnings of Women," NBER Chapters, in: Marriage, Family, Human Capital, and Fertility, pages 76-110, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Todd M. Gabe, 2009. "Knowledge And Earnings," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 439-457, August.
    5. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Shi, Xinzheng & Wu, Binzhen, 2012. "Does attending elite colleges pay in China?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 78-88.
    6. Li, Hongbin & Liu, Pak Wai & Zhang, Junsen, 2012. "Estimating returns to education using twins in urban China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 494-504.
    7. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1, March.
    8. CHEN, Guifu & HAMORI, Shigeyuki, 2009. "Economic returns to schooling in urban China: OLS and the instrumental variables approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 143-152, June.
    9. Zhang, Junsen & Zhao, Yaohui & Park, Albert & Song, Xiaoqing, 2005. "Economic returns to schooling in urban China, 1988 to 2001," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 730-752, December.
    10. Hongbin Li & PakWai Liu & Junsen Zhang & Ning Ma, 2007. "Economic Returns to Communist Party Membership: Evidence From Urban Chinese Twins," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(523), pages 1504-1520, October.
    11. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    12. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Liu, Pak-Wai & Zhang, Junsen & Chong, Shu-Chuen, 2004. "Occupational segregation and wage differentials between natives and immigrants: evidence from Hong Kong," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 395-413, February.
    14. Mishra, Vinod & Smyth, Russell, 2013. "Economic returns to schooling for China's Korean minority," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 89-102.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jacek Liwiński, 2019. "The wage premium from foreign language skills," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 691-711, November.
    2. Song, Yang, 2018. "Intended and unintended effects of student performance measurement reform in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 133-152.
    3. Asadullah, M. Niaz & Xiao, Saizi, 2020. "The changing pattern of wage returns to education in post-reform China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 137-148.
    4. Wang, Haining & Smyth, Russell & Cheng, Zhiming, 2017. "The economic returns to proficiency in English in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 91-104.
    5. Lucong Wang & Jingchao Dai, 2023. "Economic Effect of Language Ability on Income and Employment: The Evidence from China," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(2), pages 1-54, February.
    6. Liang Chen & Wanli Li, 2022. "Language acquisition and regional innovation: Evidence from English proficiency in China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 178-191, January.
    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. Zhenyu Yao & Wei Zhang & Xinde Ji & Weizhe Weng, 2023. "Short-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Cognitive Performance: New Evidence from China’s College English Test," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(1), pages 211-237, May.
    9. Li, Yufan & Teng, Weichen & Tsai, Limin & Lin, Tom M.Y., 2022. "Does English proficiency support the economic development of non-English-speaking countries? The case of Asia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    10. Zhou, Yonghong & Zhu, Rong & Zheng, Xian, 2020. "Second language skills and labor market outcomes: Evidence from the handover of Hong Kong," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Vinod Mishra, 2018. "Returns to education in China: a meta-analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(54), pages 5903-5919, November.
    2. M Niaz Asadullah & Saizi Xiao, 2019. "Labor Market Returns to Education and English Language Skills in the People's Republic of China: An Update," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 36(1), pages 80-111, March.
    3. Lin Xiu & Morley Gunderson, 2013. "Credential Effects and the Returns to Education in China," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 27(2), pages 225-248, June.
    4. 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.
    5. Gao, Wenshu & Smyth, Russell, 2011. "Economic returns to speaking 'standard Mandarin' among migrants in China's urban labour market," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 342-352, April.
    6. Solomon Polachek, 2003. "Mincer's Overtaking Point and the Life Cycle Earnings Distribution," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(4), pages 273-304, December.
    7. Thierry Debrand & Sophie Pennec & Anne-Gisèle Privat, 2003. "Un modèle de microsimulation pour la projection des retraites du régime général," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(4), pages 215-230.
    8. Kentaro Shimada & Zeba Khan & Suguru Mizunoya & Ayako Wakano, 2016. "An Update of the Returns to Education in Kenya: Accounting both endogeneity and sample selection biases," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 16-18, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    9. CHEN, Guifu & HAMORI, Shigeyuki, 2009. "Economic returns to schooling in urban China: OLS and the instrumental variables approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 143-152, June.
    10. Liu, C., 2018. "Reconciling Returns to Education in Off-Farm Wage Employment among Women in Rural China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276941, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Polachek, Solomon W., 2008. "Earnings Over the Life Cycle: The Mincer Earnings Function and Its Applications," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 4(3), pages 165-272, April.
    12. Lili Kang & Fei Peng, 2012. "A selection analysis of returns to education in China," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 535-554, March.
    13. Xinxin Ma, 2019. "The Impact of Membership of the Communist Party of China on Wages," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(4), pages 2839-2856.
    14. Chris SAKELLARIOU & Fang ZHENG, 2014. "Returns to Schooling for Urban Residents and Migrants in China: New IV Estimates and a Comprehensive Investigation," Economic Growth Centre Working Paper Series 1407, Nanyang Technological University, School of Social Sciences, Economic Growth Centre.
    15. Beatriz Muriel Hernández, 2016. "An Analysis of Firm Characteristics as Earnings Determinants: The Urban Bolivia Case," Development Research Working Paper Series 04/2016, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.
    16. Stefan Gravemeyer & Thomas Gries & Jinjun Xue, 2011. "Income Determination and Income Discrimination in Shenzhen," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(7), pages 1457-1475, May.
    17. Pandelis Mitsis, 2020. "Assessing the gender wage gap in the culinary occupations in Cyprus," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 14(2), pages 31-49, December.
    18. Nizalova, Olena Y. & Sliusarenko, Tamara & Shpak, Solomiya, 2016. "The motherhood wage penalty in times of transition," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 56-75.
    19. Günalp, Burak & Cilasun, Seyit Mümin & Acar, Elif Öznur, 2013. "Male-Female Labor Market Participation and the Extent of Gender-Based Wage Discrimination in Turkey," MPRA Paper 51503, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Zhong, Hai, 2011. "Returns to higher education in China: What is the role of college quality?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 260-275, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:30:y:2014:i:c:p:290-300. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.