China Family Education Investment Behavior Analysis

During three decades of Reform and Opening up(1978-2008),China's experiencing significant changes,from the industrialization stage mainly depending on physical capital,to the science and technology-based phase supported by the human capital.With which, government has increased investment in education, families,also showed a marked raise in the number of investments, diversification of forms of investment,since economic environment and education investment have been improved.However,when the whole nation puts high value on investment in education, every family has to face to the increasing risk of investment in education,caused by the mismatching between over-supply and saturated demand for education.Family education investment decisions, though made by individual families, the investment behaviors of the families, are affected by families,the nation and the society.The results of the combined effects,good or not, should be shared jointly. The country's economic, education policies, social environment and other social and cultural capitals, will result in widespread and clear impacts, not only on the economic aspects, but also on the non-economic one. Economical factors,on the macro level,have led to wide education investment gap between rural and urban families,and among different regions,and have led to the phenomenon of "over-education" due to unbalanced situation between supply and demand in the labor market;on the micro level,divisions of different family investment in education and risk of family investment have been worsened.In addition,those who have been seen as human capital are independent educatees.Their wills and emotional and other non-economic implications, also increase the uncertainty of investment in education,so risk reduction of the family investment behavior should be controlled completely not alone by the decision-making behavior of individual families, but by working together as much as possible,taking into account the impact of factors,both macro-and micro ones,integrating system and optimizing the system environment,guiding behaviors, building the prevention work of family education investment risk on the sound system,at the same time,establishing the consciousness of the family education investment risk.This article is divided into four parts:The first part is to define the theories.Expounding concepts,characteristics,the specific scopes,the general motivation and the relative theories of family investment in education.It is obvious that family education investment expenditure is a behavior with intention of acquisition of human capital investment,aims of which are generally to meet the need of basic life, moreover, to expect economic, non-economic returns.The second one studies general characteristics of the evolution of family investment behavior.Summarizing contents and methods of the 30-year's family investment in education by conducting the investigation among cities,rural areas and other different areas.The overall evolution of family investment behaviors in education is characterized by steadily increased investment,diversified contents and ways,enlarged gaps between urban and rural areas,and the apparent phenomenon of "over-education" caused by unbalanced labor market.The third component analyses various factors exerting influence on the behavior of investment in education.Factors relating to investment behaviors,like micro-economic conditions, cultural and social capital, supply and demand in the macro-labor market, investment incomes and returns,are analyzed separately.The fourth represents risks and countermeasures of family investment in education.Trying to find system measures and decision-making methods for families,to avoid family investment risks .