How the Quality and Quantity of Education Affect China's Economy
Abstract
between 1980 and 2014 within a broader cross-country context. Using census data for China and internationally comparable education and
GDP statistics, the study analyzes how average years of schooling among adults aged 25 and above are associated with GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity. Employing ordinary least squares regressions across five benchmark years, the results reveal a strong and
statistically significant positive association between educational attainment and income levels across countries. While population size exhibits
no robust relationship with GDP per capita, the explanatory power of education increases over time, particularly after 2000. These findings
highlight the growing importance of human capital during periods of structural transformation and demographic transition, while also underscoring the descriptive (rather than causal) nature of the evidence.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
[1] Altinok, N., Diebolt, C., & Demeulemeester, J. L. (2014). A new international database on education quality. Applied Economics,
46(11), 12121247.
[2] Barro, R. J. (1991). Economic growth in a cross section of countries. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106(2), 407443.
[3] Bils, M., & Klenow, P. J. (2000). Does schooling cause growth? American Economic Review, 90(5), 11601183.
[4] Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., & Sevilla, J. (2003). The demographic dividend: A new perspective on the economic consequences of population change. RAND.
[5] Feng, J., Hong, G., Qian, W., Hu, R., & Shi, G. (2020). Aging in China: An international and domestic comparative study. Sustainability,
12(12), 5086. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/5086
[6] Glewwe, P., Hanushek, E. A., Humpage, S., & Ravina, R. (2014). School resources and educational outcomes in developing countries.
Economic Journal, 124(580), F64F91.
[7] Hanushek, E. A., & Kimko, D. D. (2000). Schooling, labor-force quality, and the growth of nations. American Economic Review, 90(5),
11841208.
[8] Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2008). The role of cognitive skills in economic development. Journal of Economic Literature,
46(3), 607668.
[9] Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2010). Education and economic growth. In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.), International
encyclopedia of education (Vol. 2, pp. 245252). Elsevier.
[10] Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2012). Do better schools lead to more growth? Cognitive skills, economic outcomes, and causation.
Journal of Economic Growth, 17(4), 267321.
[11] Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2015). The knowledge capital of nations: Education and the economics of growth. MIT Press.
[12] Krueger, A. B., & Lindahl, M. (2001). Education for growth: Why and for whom? Journal of Economic Literature, 39(4), 11011136.
[13] Li, H., Loyalka, P., Rozelle, S., & Wu, B. (2017). Human capital and China's future growth. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(1),
2548. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.31.1.25
[14] Lucas, R. E. (1988). On the mechanics of economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 22(1), 342.
[15] Mankiw, N. G., Romer, D., & Weil, D. N. (1992). A contribution to the empirics of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics,
107(2), 407437.
[16] Pritchett, L. (2001). Where has all the education gone? World Bank Economic Review, 15(3), 367391.
[17] Romer, P. M. (1990). Endogenous technological change. Journal of Political Economy, 98(5), S71S102.
[18] Sianesi, B., & Van Reenen, J. (2003). The returns to education: Macroeconomics. Journal of Economic Surveys, 17(2), 157200.
[19] Trostel, P. A. (2004). The contribution of schooling to economic growth. Kyklos, 57(1), 128.
[20] Wolff, E. N. (2000). Human capital investment and economic growth: Exploring the cross-country evidence. Structural Change and
Economic Dynamics, 11(4), 433472.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/memf.v3i2.8836
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
