Research on the Economic Effects of Compulsory Education in China

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the factors driving the rapid development of the Chinese economy. Utilizing univariate linear regression, we examine the impact of compulsory education in China on its economic growth, utilizing data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China spanning the years 1983 to 2006. Additionally, we conduct robustness tests and heterogeneity analyses using variables such as the number of middle school students, Chinese GDP, and the time span from 1983 to 2022. Our analysis also delves into industry-specific variations and expenditure-based approaches. Our findings are summarized as follows: 1. Compulsory education in China exhibits a positive influence on its economic growth. 2. According to the robustness test, the baseline conclusion of this paper is robust. 3. Compulsory education plays a pivotal role in the tertiary industry and net exports but exerts fewer effects on the second industry and investment and contributes a little to the first industry and consumption.