Higher Education in China - A Growth Paradox?

No 185, Development Economics Working Papers from East Asian Bureau of Economic Research

Abstract: Although China has largely eliminated illiteracy and achieved a high level of primary-graduation, investment in higher education lags. China’s high levels of economic growth since reform have been achieved in spite of the existence of relatively few college-trained managers and professions to guide its industrial development. The contribution of higher education to China’s economic growth is supported by an impressive body of evidence. Yet China’s policies toward higher education are inappropriate. Educational expenditures are disproportionately directed toward areas where the rate of return is relatively low, and this has important policy implications for efforts to reduce regional income inequality through encouragement of investment in physical capital.

Keywords: China; education; illiteracy; investment; higher education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O53 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: Written 2002-07
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