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Educational inequality and income inequality: An empirical study on China

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Frontiers of Education in China

Abstract

Based on the endogenous growth theory, this paper uses the Gini coefficient to measure educational inequality and studies the empirical relationship between educational inequality and income inequality through a simultaneous equation model. The results show that: (1) Income inequality leads to educational inequality while the reduction of educational equality does not contribute to the decrease of income inequality, and there is no simple casual effect between them. However education expansion is beneficial to reduce educational inequality and income inequality. (2) Education relates to income inequality through the human capital transmission mechanism, but this mechanism does not automatically translate into a virtuous cycle of “educational equality↔income equality”. (3) In the long run, the reduction of educational inequality does not reduce income inequality, but income inequality has a negative instant-impact on educational equality. (4) At present, the level of educational investment and urbanization do not effectively promote educational equality. In addition, the robustness of the model used in this paper has been partly proved.

摘要

基于内生增长理论, 构建联立方程组模型, 采用教育基尼系数衡量教育不**等, 研究教育不**等与收入分配的作用机理及方向发现: (1) 收入分配差距导致教育不**等, 教育不**等的改进却没能促进收入分配差距的改善, 教育不**等与收入分配差距并非简单线性关系, 但教育扩展有利于教育和收入不**等的改善; (2) 教育通过人力资本传导机制与收入分配之间发生联系, 但其不会自发形成“教育**等↔收入**等” 的良性循环; (3) 长期内教育不**等的降低并没有改善收入不**等, 但收入不**等在当期就能加剧教育不**等程度; (4) 目前教育投入的水**、 城市化进程并未有效地改进教育不**等。 另外, 模型的稳健性得到部分证实。

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  1. College of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China

    Jun Yang, **ao Huang & **aoyu Li

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  1. Jun Yang
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  2. **ao Huang
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  3. **aoyu Li
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Correspondence to Jun Yang.

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__________

Translated from Guanli Shijie 管理世界 (Management World), 2008, (1): 38–47

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Yang, J., Huang, X. & Li, X. Educational inequality and income inequality: An empirical study on China. Front. Educ. China 4, 413–434 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-009-0022-1

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