Abstract
This study investigates, statistically and econometrically, the income level, income inequality, education inequality, and the relationship between education and income of different social groups, on the basis of the Chinese Urban Household Survey conducted in 2005, the Gini coefficient and the quartile regression method. Research findings indicate that income inequality in China shows a significantly increasing trend since the beginning of the 1990s, which is attributed to the lowest income groups. Additionally, it is seen that the higher the level of education in a group, the smaller the income gap within it. As a result, the rate of returns on education for the “group with weaker ability to earn” is higher than that for the “group with stronger ability to earn”.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahluwalia M S (1976). Income distribution and development: some stylized facts, American Economic Review, (66): 128–135
Bai X M (2004). Education and income inequality: an empirical study in China. Management World, (6): 53–58 (in Chinese)
Becker G S (1975). Human Capital. New York: National Bureau of Economics Research, 1–268
Buchinsky M (2004). Changes in the US wage structure, 1963–1987: application of quantile regression. Econometrica, (62): 405–458
Cai F (2003). Rural-urban income gap and critical point of institutional change. Social Sciences in China, (5): 16–25 (in Chinese)
Chen Y Y, Wang Z G, Wei Z (2004). The income inequality and its changes in 1990s in urban China. Economic Science, (6): 16–25 (in Chinese)
Chen Y Y, Xing C B (2004). Rural modernization and the role of education in rural labor market. Economic Research Journal, (8): 105–116 (in Chinese)
Dong X A (2004). Understanding the regional income disparity in China, 1952–2002. Economic Research Journal, (9): 48–59 (in Chinese)
Guo X B (2002). Kuznets hypothesis viewed from the theory of economics of development: on the causes for the enlargement of income inequality in China. Management World, (3): 66–73 (in Chinese)
Knight J B, Sabot R H (1983). Education expansion and the Kuznets effect. American Economic Review, (73): 1132–1136
Li S (2003). A review of income inequality in China. China Economic Quarterly, (1): 379–404 (in Chinese)
Li S, Zhao R W (1999). Research on the distribution of income in China: new evidences. Economic Research Journal, (4): 2–17 (in Chinese)
Lin G B (2004). Grade system, market economy, and the increasing urban-rural income disparity. Management World, (4): 30–40
Ma X Q, Ding X H (2005). Risk of Chinese urban citizens’ individual investment in education: a positivist study. Educational Research, (4): 25–31 (in Chinese)
Mincer J (1974). Schooling, Experience and Earnings. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1–167
Pereira T P, Martins P S (2002). Is there a return-risk link in education? Retrieved on Dec. 17, 2006, from http://ftp.iza.org/dp321.pdf
Schultz, T W (1960). Capital formation by education. Journal of Political Economy, (68): 571–465
UNDP (2005). China Human Development Report 2005. Beijing: China Development Research Foundation Press, 12 (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated from Beijing Daxue Jiaoyu Pinglun 北京大学教育评论 (Peking University Education Review), 2006, 4(2): 85–92
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yue, C., Liu, Y. Impact of education on the income of different social groups. Front. Educ. China 2, 191–200 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-007-0016-9
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-007-0016-9