The Relationship Research Between Inequality In Education Opportunity And The Increasing Urban-Rural Income Gap In Our Country

Since reform and opening, the enlarging urban-rural income gap in our country has already been a very outstanding and social realistic problem. The excessive income gap not only means the loss of economic efficiency, but is bad for social stability, affecting the sustained development of whole society and economy, so, we must investigate its formation reasons and put forward solution to it. The reasons which result this phenomenon are various. The western academic circles give two reasons for explaining it, which are the theories of industrialization hobby in economic development strategy and the non-equilibrium of political structure. Some scholars in our country explain it from the angle of economic policy inclined to city, household register institution and so on. Now, the knowledge-based economy ages, human capital has become the core factor that pushes economy increase. As the most important aspect in human capital investment, education decides the way of economic growth and the growing speed. This paper tries to look for the reason of enlarging urban-rural income gap on farmer oneself from the angle of education. Urban-rural education gap and the human capital contraction in the country which urban-rural inequality in education causes is the basic and long-term reason why urban-rural income gap is enlarging constantly. So, contracting education gap and promoting rural human capital level is right choice to reduce urban-rural income gap.This paper applies the method of theoretical analysis and evidence analysis together, first reveals the present conditions that urban-rural income gap is enlarging and education opportunity is unequal, then looks for theoretical basis, analyzing the relationship between education and income as well as education gap how to influence income gap, and analyses the reason why urban-rural inequality in education causes the enlargement of income gap. We find that education inequality results the difference in urban-rural human capital and the whole quality of rural labor is much lower than the city's, which prevents agriculture from growing in an intensive way, and makes rural industry single as well as income growth of farmer slow. At the same time, the lower education level, quality and skill restrict the transfer of Village labor force to city and the second, third industry, and enhance economy structure that has two extremes. The evidence analysis based on our country's horizontal data of 2003 also illustrates the positive influence caused by urban-rural education gap to income gap. At last, this paper puts forward some solutions which are with promoting governmental (particularly, central government and provincial government) education supply function for core, while perfecting educational system which satisfies rural educational need and keeping company with urbanization, aiming at contracting the gap of urban-rural education and solving the problem of constant enlargement in urban-rural income gap effectively.