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Sorting, Selection, and Transformation of the Return to College Education In China

Author

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  • Belton M. Fleisher
  • Haizheng Li
  • Shi Li
  • Xiaojun Wang

Abstract

We estimate selection and sorting effects on the evolution of the private return to schooling for college graduates during China???s reform between 1988 and 2002. We pay special attention to the changing role of sorting by ability versus budget-constraint effects as China???s education policy has changed from one in which the bulk of direct costs are paid by government for students who pass a rigid set of test to one in which freedom of choice is increasingly the rule for those who can afford to pay for tuition and living expenses while acquiring higher education. We find evidence of substantial sorting gains under the traditional system but that gains have diminished and even become negative as schooling choices widened and participation has become subject to increasing direct private costs. We take this as evidence consistent with the influence of financial constraints on decisions to attend college.

Suggested Citation

  • Belton M. Fleisher & Haizheng Li & Shi Li & Xiaojun Wang, 2000. "Sorting, Selection, and Transformation of the Return to College Education In China," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp756, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    • Handle: RePEc:wdi:papers:2005-756
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Wenshu Gao & Russell Smyth, 2015. "Education expansion and returns to schooling in urban China, 2001–2010: evidence from three waves of the China Urban Labor Survey," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 178-201, April.
    2. Emanuela di Gropello, 2006. "Meeting the Challenges of Secondary Education in Latin America and East Asia : Improving Efficiency and Resource Mobilization," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7173, December.
    3. Yao Amber Li & John Whalley & Shunming Zhang & Xiliang Zhao, 2012. "The Higher Educational Transformation of China and Its Global Implications," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Christine T. Ennew & David Greenaway (ed.), The Globalization of Higher Education, chapter 10, pages 135-162, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Mishra, Vinod & Smyth, Russell, 2015. "Estimating returns to schooling in urban China using conventional and heteroskedasticity-based instruments," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 166-173.
    5. Yuanyuan Chen & Shuaizhang Feng, 2011. "Parental Education and Wages: Evidence from China," Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, Higher Education Press, vol. 6(4), pages 568-591, December.
    6. Messinis, George, 2013. "Returns to education and urban-migrant wage differentials in China: IV quantile treatment effects," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 39-55.
    7. Fleisher, Belton & Li, Haizheng & Zhao, Min Qiang, 2010. "Human capital, economic growth, and regional inequality in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 215-231, July.
    8. Xinxin Ma & Chengcheng Zhang, 2017. "Higher Education Expansion and Return to Education in China: Evidence from CGSS2005 and CGSS2013," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 8(3), pages 85-104, July.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. Vinod Mishra & Russell Smyth, 2012. "Returns to Schooling in Urban China: New Evidence Using Heteroskedasticity Restrictions to Obtain Identification Without Exclusion Restrictions," Monash Economics Working Papers 33-12, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    12. 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.
    13. Iris Claus & Les Oxley & Chen Wang & Guanghua Wan & Dan Yang, 2014. "Income Inequality In The People'S Republic Of China: Trends, Determinants, And Proposed Remedies," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 686-708, September.
    14. Wang, Le, 2012. "Economic transition and college premium in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 238-252.
    15. Wenshu Gao & Russell Smyth, 2012. "Returns to Schooling in Urban China, 2001-2010: Evidence from Three Waves of the China Urban Labor Survey," Monash Economics Working Papers 50-12, Monash University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Return to schooling; sorting gains; heterogeneity; financial constraints; comparative advantage; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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