When the Young Meet the Old: Evidence on Education Upgrading in China

Tianran Dai and Yaohui Zhao

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper proposes an explanation for the increased college attainment of adults in China from 1990-2000. Using the timing of China’s family planning policies implemented in the 1970s, we show that the early adoption of the policies increased the relative supply of young college labor, causing older adults to upgrade their education at the tertiary level. We find that the college wage premium for older adults increased from 1990-2000, matching the time when young college workers entered the labor market. Our results suggest that college rationing is costly to society, especially in the era of rising returns to education.

Keywords: adult labor; birth cohorts; Chinese family planning policies; migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J10 J20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-02-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna
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