China's higher education expansion and its labor market consequences
(李实,邢春冰)
Using a 1/5 random draw of the 1% census of 2005, we investigate how China’s higher
education expansion commenced in 1999 affects the education opportunities of various
population groups and how this policy affects the labor market. Treating the expansion as an
experiment and using a LATE framework, we find that higher education expansion increased
the probability of go to college tremendously. Different populations “benefit” from this policy
differently however. Minority female, those from central-western region and from rural areas
are less likely to benefit from it. One-child families are more responsive to this policy. Using
higher education resources at the provincial level as another dimension of variation, and
using a difference-in-difference strategy, we find that the education expansion decreased the
within sector inequality of population with above high school (inclusive) education. This is
primarily due to the increase of the income level for high school graduate. That of the college
graduate deceased, but only slightly and not significantly.