Expansion Of Higher Education In China Research Articles

Why does education matter in climate action? Evidence and mechanisms from China’s higher education expansion in the late 1990s

ABSTRACT Exploiting an exogenous shock from a centrally devised, nationwide higher education expansion in China in the late 1990s and followed by a surge in the college-educated labour in job markets in the early 2000s, we use a difference-in-differences strategy and carbon satellite datasets to empirically estimate the impact and mechanisms of increases in human capital investment on carbon emission intensity. We find that the regions with the most human-capital-dependent can experience a larger decline of carbon emission intensity compared with that of regions with the least after the policy entry into force. The college-educated labour with higher social responsibility flooded into the job markets contributes to the low-carbon transformation of economy, by improving the production efficiency and innovation, and in turn promoting the upgrading of industrial structure and decreasing the use of fossil energy. This climate mitigation effect is more profound for the regions that are economically developed but also lack the education resources of university and college.

Human capital and trademarks: Evidence from higher education expansion in China

This paper investigates how human capital affects trademark applications at the firm level. We adopt a difference-in-differences strategy to examine the impact of human capital on trademark applications, taking advantage of a unique natural experiment in China that expanded higher education enrollment substantially in 1999. We find firms in industries with higher human capital intensities filed for more trademarks after 2003 than they did in prior years. We then investigate the mechanism through which human capital enhancement causes more trademark applications. We find that firms in industries with higher human capital intensities tend to invest more in R&D and worker training programs. We next find that firms that spend more on R&D and training programs tend to develop more new products. We also find firms that have more new products file for more trademark applications. The main policy implication of our empirical results is that encouraging human capital enhancement can generate more innovative products and trademarks.

The Impact of Ascribed Factors on Educational Attainment after Higher Education Expansion in China: Evidence from CGSS 2021

Since the implementation of China’s higher education enrollment expansion policy in 1999, the rapid growth of individuals receiving higher education has achieved a level of popularization. This study utilized data from CGSS2021 to empirically examine the correlation between ascribed factors and educational attainment among two groups, namely the school-age population affected by the enrollment expansion policy and those impacted by the resumption of the college entrance examination. The findings indicated that the impact of gender on educational attainment has been alleviated, while ethnicity has emerged as a considerable influencing factor in light of the expansion policy. Although household registration remains a significant factor affecting educational attainment, its negative correlation has diminished when compared to the previous status. Family cultural and socio-economic backgrounds increasingly contributed to individuals’ educational acquisition following the implementation of the enrollment expansion policy.

Influence of college education on happiness: A quasi-experimental study based on higher education expansion in China.

Previous studies have documented a positive association between college education and happiness. However, the endogeneity of college education attainment is rarely examined, and a more robust link between college education and happiness needs to be built. Based on the Chinese General Social Survey data of 2017, the present study used the quasi-experiment of China’s higher education expansion started in 1999 to construct a fuzzy regression discontinuity design to examine the causal association between college education and happiness. It is observed that college education indeed improved Chinese happiness, but this positive association was stronger in males than in females. Further, college education was observed to improve happiness by improving individual political status, perceived personal status, health and family social status, but not by increasing personal income. Accordingly, the government should continue to promote the development of higher education, and the fairness of higher education development deserves more attention to reduce population disparities in happiness.

The value of higher education to entrepreneurial performance: Evidence from higher education expansion in China

Using the Enterprise Survey for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China (ESIEC) 2018 database, we estimate the effect of the higher education of entrepreneur on firm performance. The expansion of higher education in China that began in 1999 is considered as an exogenous shock to identify causal effects. We find (1) that college education of entrepreneur significantly increases the total factor productivity of firms; (2) that college education of entrepreneur significantly increases the probability of innovation; and (3) that college education of entrepreneur significantly increases the likelihood that firms will gain policy supports from governments. The estimation results suggest that the increasing human capital of entrepreneurs is an important driving force for productivity growth in China. The study has policy implications for both higher education expansion and entrepreneurship.

Higher Education Expansion in China, 1999–2003: Impact on Graduate Employability

AbstractWe examine the impact of China's higher education expansion on labor market outcomes for young college graduates using China's 2005 1 Percent Population Sample Survey. Exploiting variations in the expansion of university places across provinces and high school cohorts between 1999 and 2003, we apply a difference‐in‐differences model and take into account the demand‐side effect by using the Bartik index. We find that the expansion of higher education in China decreased unemployment rates among males and college graduates in the short term. However, the policy decreased women's labor force participation and individual earnings in high‐skilled white‐collar jobs. We further discuss potential channels affecting the outcomes that were observed. Our results illustrate the broad economic benefits of higher education. The findings shed new light on the contribution of young skilled labor in the economic growth of China and call for policies that can alleviate the short‐term negative impact of higher education on individual students and maximize human capital. Our study also provides an interesting example of the consequences of the unequal expansion of higher education opportunities on the labor market of an emerging economy.

University education, homeownership and housing wealth

We utilise the implementation of the 1999 higher education expansion in China as a natural experiment to examine the relationship between university educational attainment, homeownership and housing wealth. Using data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies, results from our preferred models, which correct for endogeneity, suggest that having a university qualification generates a 3.5–6.3 percentage points increase in the probability of homeownership and a 24.3–51.1 percentage points increase in total housing wealth. We also find that holding a university qualification increases the number of houses one owns and housing wealth for those whose housing wealth is above the median. We find that self-reported social status and entitlement to superannuation are channels through which higher education affects homeownership and housing wealth and that financial literacy is a channel through which higher education affects housing wealth. We find considerable heterogeneity in the impact of higher education on housing outcomes across gender, family income levels, parent education and between urban and rural areas.

Motives, benefits, and challenges of Higher Education expansion in China

China believes in education as an investment of human capital for future returns. It has been a long-time desire for the Chinese government to expand and invest in higher education. The leadership of Deng Xiaoping inspired Chinese people about education it should be open over the world, for the future, and towards modernization. The purpose of higher education in global views is to promote the development of a nation in political, economic, technical, and social spheres. There are gradual changes in higher education after the open policy in China, which influences the expansion of higher education institutions. Higher education acts as a tunnel to prepare several professionals and talents, which will be helpful to the social changes in science and social science programs. Global competence leads the Chinese government to expand higher education in enrollment rate and improves the quality of higher education in acquiring competent knowledge that copes with the global market. This paper focused on reviewing literary works on motives, benefits, and challenges of higher education expansion in China through reviewing different studies from local and international perspectives. From compulsory through higher education, the curriculum should place a greater emphasis on competency. To deal with the wind of unemployment caused by the rise of higher education in China, the government should encourage and support graduates to find innovative and creative skills. For China's economy to grow quicker, a well-educated society requires graduates to apply their skills to solve many societal problems.

From massification towards post-massification: Policy and governance of higher education in China

Chinese higher education institutions have experienced an unprecedented expansion and major reforms since the late 1990s. The revolutionary growth has not only established the largest higher education system in the world but has also transformed an elite system to a post-massified one over the last two decades. The expansion policy was largely an economically justified proposal that has emerged under certain conditions. However, reform has been criticised for not delivering the promised outcomes. The article examines the historical development of higher education expansion in China, investigating its rationales, practices and the extent to which the policy has become a paradox during massification. As China moves into the post-massification stage, the article forecasts emerging policy trends and highlights future challenges. It considers restructuring state-education relationship through mechanisms of funding, provision and regulation as options for governing the ever growing and massifying system more sustainably in the upcoming era.

Does higher education make you more entrepreneurial? Causal evidence from China

Using the 2017 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we estimate the effect of higher education on entrepreneurship for prime-aged males. We use the higher education expansion in China starting in 1999 and instruments of pre-school hukou status to help identify causal effects, and distinguish between own-account workers and employers of small and large businesses, respectively. While the Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment estimates show that people with more education are generally less likely to become entrepreneurs, obtaining any qualification beyond the baseline of compulsory schooling significant increases large business ownership later in life, with the maximum effect corresponding to a 3-fold increase for university graduates. We attribute this effect to graduates taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by access to education earlier on in their lives.

China's move to mass higher education since 1998: Analysis of higher education expansion policies

AbstractUnder the knowledge‐based economy, higher education plays an important role in cultivating talents and enhancing national competitiveness. Compared with other countries, China is a latecomer in the expansion of higher education but has undergone considerable transformation from elite to massification in a short time since 1998. Most important, China's higher education expansion is not limited to the undergraduate level but includes junior college and postgraduate education. This dramatic development in higher education is also simultaneously affected by marketisation and decentralisation. Moreover, the unprecedented growth and achievements of the reform drew scholars' attention to this inspired case of the consequences of educational expansion. However, few studies analyse higher education expansion policies. This study analyses educational policies since 1998 to understand how the move to mass higher education was achieved through marketisation and decentralisation with the strong control of the central government. Drawing on policy analyses, this study suggests that the higher education expansion in China exhibits the characteristics of the East Asian model, which is shaped by the strong nation‐state structure with instrumentalism.

Does Higher Education Make You More Entrepreneurial? Causal Evidence from China

Using the 2017 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we estimate the effect of higher education on entrepreneurship for prime-aged males. We distinguish between own-account workers and employers of small and large businesses, respectively, and use the higher education expansion in China starting in 1999 and instruments of pre-school hukou status to help identify causal effects. While our Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment estimates show that people with more education are less likely to enter entrepreneurship in general, obtaining any qualification beyond the baseline of compulsory schooling significant increases large business ownership later in life, with the maximum effect corresponding to a 3-fold increase found for university graduates. We attribute this effect to graduates taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by access to education earlier on in their lives.

Higher Education Expansion, Selections Based on Non-Cognitive Abilities and Gender Differences: The Case of China

We assess how implicit selections based on non-cognitive abilities may have changed in the context of the great higher education expansion in China, applying the classic supply-demand framework and utilizing the Big Five personality model. Using the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data from 2012, difference-in-difference (DID), difference-in-difference-in-difference (DDD) and descriptive analyses establish the following three major findings. First, from the generation entering college before the expansion—post-70s—to the generation entering college after the expansion—post-80s and post-90s—implicit selections in higher education based on personality have weakened with the increased supply of higher education opportunities. Second, selections have significantly weakened in terms of the openness dimension of personality, yet there is some evidence that selections have strengthened in terms of conscientiousness. This reflects that open-mindedness has become a relatively higher supply trait and conscientiousness has become a relatively lower supply trait among members of the post-90s generation. Third, selections have weakened only on the openness dimension for males, but on multiple dimensions beginning with agreeableness for females, reflecting a greatly increased supply of higher education opportunities for females with this dominant trait. The finding on strengthened selections based on conscientiousness has important implications for what and how to educate today’s college students.

Does higher education expansion enhance productivity?

This paper studies the impact of the higher education expansion in China on average labor productivity. I argue that in an economy such as China’s, where allocation distortions widely exist, educational policy affects labor productivity not only through its effect on human capital stock, but also through its effect on human capital allocation across sectors. Thus, its impact could be limited if misallocation becomes more severe following the policy. I build a two-sector general equilibrium model with policy distortions favoring the state sector and overlapping generations of heterogeneous households making educational and occupational choices. Quantitative results show that, given policy distortions, China’s higher education expansion had a small but negative effect on its average labor productivity (–2.5%). The crowding out of productive capital caused by magnified resource misallocation plays a key role in driving down productivity. However, the productivity effect of the educational policy would turn positive if distortions were further reduced or removed.

The impact of higher education expansion on intergenerational mobility

AbstractThe persistent correlations between parents and children's outcomes have long been investigated. From a policy perspective, it is important to understand the underlying causes of those correlations. Educational policy changes may have significant impacts on intergenerational mobility. The last several decades have witnessed a remarkable expansion of higher education around the world. In this paper, we examine the effect of higher education expansion on intergenerational mobility in China. We find that the higher education expansion in China has weakened the advantage of cadres’ children in higher education participation, and has strengthened the intergenerational educational correlation. One explanation for these results might be that, along with the process of economic reform started in 1979, the cadre selection mechanism has placed more and more weight on candidate's education and abilities.

Does a college education cause better health and health behaviours?

In this article, we exploit the recent higher education expansion in China to apply a regression discontinuity method to identify the causal effects of higher education on health and health behaviours. We do not find causal effect of a college education on better smoking and drinking behaviours. For our selected measures of health, we do not find causal effect of a college education on better self-assessed health, less chance of having illness in the past 3 months and keeping normal body weight; however, we find that a college education could significantly reduce the probability of having hypertension.

Higher Education Expansion in China and the ‘Ant Tribe’ Problem

College Enrolment Expansion policies have been implemented in China since 1999. Unfortunately, numbers of qualified teachers and the amount of educational funds input have not caught up with the pace of student intake. Even the curricula taught in colleges are outdated and work practice programmes are inefficient. As a result, new college graduates cannot meet the requirements of firms they wish to work for. Many graduates work in unskilled job positions with low pay. They are called the ‘Ant tribe’. We estimate that the accumulative number of persons in ‘Ant tribes’ had exceeded 3 million by 2010, and the corresponding cost to China’s annual GDP was over 0.22% in respect of effective labour input. Improvement in quality should take priority during the expansion of higher education.

Expansion of Chinese higher education since 1998: Its causes and outcomes

This paper examines an important development in Chinese higher education in the late 1990s and early 2000s, namely, its radical expansion of enrollment starting from 1998. After a brief review of the related literature on educational expansion, the paper analyzes the higher education expansion in China in detail. The paper argues that a variety of factors have led to the enrollment expansion, including the expectation to stimulate domestic consumption and to ease the immediate pressure on the labor market, the high public interest in and demand for higher education in Chinese society, and the political will of the Chinese government to develop higher education. The outcomes of the enrollment expansion are also examined. The paper argues that the expected short term impact of enrollment expansion on Chinese economy is not warranted by reality. Enrollment expansion has also put pressures on Chinese higher education to further reform its structure, curricula, and administration. More importantly, enrollment expansion has brought the issue of equity to the front.