Friday 7 December 2007

Family background, financial constraints and higher education attendance in China

Research paper looking at Chinese participation in higher education. The results appear to be fairly intuitive and fit the anecdotal evidence of a large expansion in the higher education sector.

Family background, financial constraints and higher education attendance in China

Wenli Li

Institute of Economics of Education, Graduate School of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Available online 1 October 2007.

Abstract

Using data from the 2004 China College Student Survey, conducted by the author, this paper finds that long-term factors such as scholastic ability and parental education are significantly correlated with higher education attendance. By contrast, short-term financial constraints are also significantly associated with higher education access, but to a lesser degree. Furthermore, in recent years China's higher education expansion has provided broader access to students from lower income families. However, the tuition fees and “net prices” of elite universities are lower than those of medium quality universities, while the tuition fees and “net prices” of medium quality universities are lower than those of relatively low quality universities and colleges. This has led to a reverse relationship between family income and attendance costs, such that lower income families now shoulder a much higher burden for their childrens’ university education than higher income families.

Keywords: Demand for schooling; Student financial aid

JEL classification codes: I21

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