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Child population, economic development and regional inequality of education resources in China

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  • Peng, Huamin
  • Qi, Lin
  • Wan, Guowei
  • Li, Bingqin
  • Hu, Bo

Abstract

There is great inequality of educational resources between different provinces in China due to unbalanced economic development. Despite continued redistribution of financial resources by the central government in favor of poorer provinces, educational inequality remains. In this paper, we argue that focusing on educational resources is far from sufficient. Poorer provinces do not only suffer from a lower level of educational resources, but they also have more children to educate, i.e. a greater need for education. Combining and analyzing the data in the Sixth National Population Census of China and the official statistics on education spending and resources, we found that provincial-level variations in the child population and the child dependency ratio have made access to educational resources even more unequal given the unequal financial capacity at the provincial level. Poorer provinces face a higher child dependency ratio and have lower economic development, and these two factors jointly lead to limited educational resources. Apart from a much higher level of redistribution in favor of less developed provinces, encouraging more balanced distribution of teachers and more broadly promoting economic equality are essential to reduce inequality in educational resources in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Peng, Huamin & Qi, Lin & Wan, Guowei & Li, Bingqin & Hu, Bo, 2020. "Child population, economic development and regional inequality of education resources in China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:110:y:2020:i:c:s0190740919310904
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104819
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Khusaini, & Remi, Sutyastie Soemitro & Fahmi, Mohamad & Purnagunawan, R. Muhamad, 2020. "Measuring the Inequality in Education: Educational Kuznets Curve," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 54(3), pages 59-76.
    2. Gangfei Luo & Shouzhen Zeng & Tomas Baležentis, 2022. "Multidimensional Measurement and Comparison of China’s Educational Inequality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 857-874, September.
    3. Huang, Xiao & Huang, Shoujun & Shui, Ailun, 2021. "Government spending and intergenerational income mobility: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 387-414.
    4. Lin Qi & Huamin Peng & Ruiwen Sun, 2022. "Examining Family Living Arrangements, Economic Development, Education Expenditure and Children’s Weight from the Welfare Mix in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2673-2695, October.

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