Education fever: Inequality, fertility and growth

Mark Gradstein

No 12/2025, BOFIT Discussion Papers from Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT)

Abstract: Demand for skilled labor and social status accorded by educational achievements induce a race to acquire education, dubbed "education fever". In conjunction with credit market constraints and in the context of quantityquality tradeoff, this, in turn, may reduce fertility, especially in well-educated families, and create cross section inequality while limiting intergenerational mobility. The resulting inequality is persistent which, in turn, may have adverse implications for economic growth. It is argued that these phenomena are consistent with recent economic and social developments in China.

Keywords: Education fever; human capital; fertility; inequality; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 J13 O11 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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