Does Education Still Pay Off in Rural China:Revisit the Impact of Education on Off-farm Employment and Wages

作     者：Haiqing Zhang Linxiu Zhang Renfu Luo Qiang Li 

作者机构：Ph.D. candidate Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China Professor and Deputy Director Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China Post Doctoral Researcher Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China Lecturer School of Economics and Management Beijing Forestry University Beijing China 

出 版 物：《China & World Economy》 (中国与世界经济（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2008年第16卷第2期

页      面：50-65页

核心收录：

学科分类：120301[管理学-农业经济管理] 12[管理学] 1203[管理学-农林经济管理] 

基　　金：the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.7 0225003) the World Bank the Ford Foundation the Canadian International Development Agency 

主　　题：off-farm employment retums to education rural labor force 

摘      要：The present study considers how education affects off-farm job participation and wages. We use a nationally representative dataset from a survey conducted in 5 provinces, 101 villages and 808 households by the authors in early 2005. The empirical results show that educational attainment, skill training and years of experience of rural residents have positive, statistically significant effects on off-farm employment. The average return to a year of education is 7percent, which is higher than those observed in previous studies. We also find the return to an additional year of schooling to be higher for post-junior high schooling than for junior high and below schooling： 11.8 versus 3.2 percent. We conclude that not only does education still pays off in rural China, but also the rate of return to education is increasing over time.