Highway Access and Human Capital Investments in the Rural Regions of the People's Republic of China
Li, Han; Zhao, Guochang; Teng, Zhaoyue | October 2019
Abstract
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has made massive investments since the late 1990s in highway infrastructure, connecting its rural and urban regions. In this paper, we study the impact of highway investments on the educational choices in rural PRC. Because enhanced connectivity facilitates people’s move, the poor in rural regions can gain access to a larger labor market, altering the opportunity costs of educational investment. Using 2005 population census data, we find that highway access significantly reduces the enrollment rate of senior high schools in rural PRC by 9%, but it does not affect the enrollment rates of both junior high and elementary schools, whose students are typically under the age of 16. This negative effect is more significant on students in rural regions than in urban regions.
Citation
Li, Han; Zhao, Guochang; Teng, Zhaoyue. 2019. Highway Access and Human Capital Investments in the Rural Regions of the People's Republic of China. © Asian Development Bank Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/11241.Keywords
Public Education
Parent Education
Equity In Education
Educational Policies
Educational Reforms
Quality Education
Bus Transportation Costs
Demand For Transport
Means Of Transport
National Transport
Passenger Transport
Road & Highway Transport
Road Transportation Systems
Sea Transport
Transport Costs
Transport Efficiency
Transport Infrastructure
Transport Planning
Transport Policy
Transport Services
Transport Systems
Transport Tax
Transportation
Out of school education
Alternative education
Educational policy
Educational planning
Educational aspects
Modes of transport
Airports
Ports
Shipping
Taxis
Vehicle
Automobile industry
Road traffic
Inland transport
International transport
Public transport
Urban transport
Transport projects
Transport workers
Transport statistics
Transport networks
Urban traffic
Tutors and tutoring
Educational change
Educational innovations
Total quality management in education
Educational accountability
Homebound instruction
Communication and traffic
Navigation
Transport planes
Air transportation industry
Air transportation system
Intra-airport transportation
Inland water transportation
Intercoastal shipping
Marine transportation
Local transit
Highway transportation
Motor transportation
Student transportation
Choice of transportation
Public transportation
Transportation industry
Mass transit
Municipal transit
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