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Education's role in China's structural transformation

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  • Lee, Soohyung
  • Malin, Benjamin A.

Abstract

We explore education's role in improving the allocation of labor between China's agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and measure the portion of China's recent growth attributable to this channel. Using detailed micro-level data and an empirical model that allows for the endogenous selection of education and sector of employment, we estimate the relationship between an individual's educational attainment, sector, and income. We find that about 11% of aggregate growth in output per worker from 1978 to 2004 is accounted for by increased education, with 9% coming through the labor-reallocation channel and 2% attributable to increased within-sector human capital.

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  • Lee, Soohyung & Malin, Benjamin A., 2013. "Education's role in China's structural transformation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 148-166.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:101:y:2013:i:c:p:148-166
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2012.10.006
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    2. Sara Hsu & Alba Carolina Melchor Simon, 2016. "China’s structural transformation: reaching potential GDP in the financial services sector," China Finance and Economic Review, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; Returns to education; Labor reallocation; Structural transformation; Growth accounting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O5 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy

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