An Empirical Study On The Personal Return Of Higher Education In China

The rate of return on education is a topic that has been continuously explored in fields such as economics and pedagogy.In the context of the era of higher education in my country about to enter the stage of popularization,in-depth research on this is undoubtedly of great practical significance.By sorting out the development process of my country's higher education,this article divides the development of higher education between the reform and opening up from 1978 to 2002 into the elite stage;divides the higher education from 2002 to the present into the stage of popularization.This paper provides empirical research on relevant data to provide research support for the smooth transition from the popularization stage to the popularization stage of my country's higher education.The most basic method of estimating the rate of return on education is the human capital income equation proposed by the American economist Cancer,which considers the influence of factors such as personal education years and work experience on wage income.Estimating the rate of return on education using the Cancer income equation is simple and easy to use,and is widely recognized by researchers in this field.However,the candid income equation also has problems such as missing variables,counterfactual selection,and heterogeneity bias.In this regard,many researchers have proposed more mature and targeted solutions,such as adding control variables or using instrumental variable methods,etc.,in order to make the estimate of the educational return rate more accurate.Considering comprehensively,this paper chooses to use the ordinary least squares method to estimate the extended candid income equation,and compares it with the previous researchers' estimates of educational returns.The main conclusions of this paper are as follows: First,as a whole,without considering the missing variables,the personal rate of return in China's higher education stage is about 12.2%,that is,each time the educated person raises an educational level band The rate of annual income increase in the coming year is about 12.2%.Second,in the stage of higher education,women's personal rate of return has always been higher than that of men.By receiving a higher level of education,women can eliminate gender discrimination in thecurrent labor market to a certain extent,thereby improving women's own educational returns.Third,for rural residents,receiving higher education can alleviate the difference in education benefits brought by urban-rural differences to a certain extent,thereby narrowing the income gap between urban and rural residents.Finally,this article puts forward policy recommendations based on the conclusions of the study,and puts forward the prospects for my country's future higher education development and higher education research.