Returns to Education in Different Job Locations for Off-Farm Wage Employment: Evidence from China

Weidong Wang, Yongqing Dong, Yunli Bai, Renfu Luo, Linxiu Zhang, Chengfang Liu and Spencer Hagist
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Weidong Wang: School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Yunli Bai: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Linxiu Zhang: International Ecosystem Management Partnership, United Nations Environment Programme, Beijing 100101, China
Chengfang Liu: School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100087, China
Spencer Hagist: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-14

Abstract: In this study, we explore the returns to education among different job locations for off-farm wage employment using nationally representative samples from rural China. Through a series of robustness checks, we conclude that there is heterogeneity in returns to education for different job locations within the rural labor force. Specifically, we have found that the returns to education for laborers in big cities are significantly higher than those for laborers working both in ordinary cities and within counties. That is to say, the utility of education is better-reflected in big cities. We conclude that the returns to education in big cities are 5.4 percent, while the returns to education are no more than 1 percent in ordinary cities and within counties. These results suggest that labor markets in the underdeveloped regions of China have factors that undermine the productivity effect of human capital.

Keywords: returns to education; labor market; off-farm wage employment; rural labor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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