Changes of Wage Structures in Chinese Public and Private Sectors: 1995-2007

Abstract

Using CHIP (Chinese Household Income Project Survey) data and the sample selection bias corrected wage function model, this paper estimated changes in wage structure in China by ownership types (SOEs, COEs, FEs, and PEs) in 1995 and 2007. The major conclusions are as follows. First, effects of education on wage levels in SOEs and FEs become greater, while education effects decrease in SOEs and PEs under economic transition periods; firm-specific human capital becomes more important in the wage determination mechanism along with market-oriented reforms in SOEs, PEs, and FEs; age effect decreases in SOEs and COEs, but it becomes greater in PEs and FEs. Second, there exist wage structure differences between sectors by wage distributions. For example, in 2007, in SOEs, education return rates are higher for the low-wage and middle-wage groups, and the effect is the highest at the 40th percentile. However in COEs and FEs, education return rates are higher for the high-wage groups, and the effect is the highest at the 70th percentile in COEs and at the 70th percentile in FEs. Tenure effects are greater in the middle-wage groups (40th-80th) in SOEs, COEs, and FEs, and age effects are greater in the low-wage groups (5th-30th) in SOEs, FEs, and PEs.