Changes In Rate Of Return To Education Of Floating Population And Its Heterogeneity

The report of the 19 th national congress of the communist party of China(CPC)pointed out that China’s economy has shifted from a stage of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development,which requires higher human capital levels of workers.In 2018,China’s floating population reached 241 million,accounting for more than 17 percent of the country’s total population.As an important part of China’s labor market,the improvement of its human capital level is of great significance to the development of society and economy.Education is the most important way to invest human capital,and the rate of return on education is the index to measure the return on education investment.In this context,this paper analyzes the variation trend and heterogeneity of the educational return rate of the floating population in China.On the one hand,it can provide reference for the investment decision of the floating population and their families in education.On the other hand,it can also provide a basis for the government to formulate policies to improve the education level of the floating population and narrow the income gap.Under the guidance of human capital theory,labor market discrimination theory and labor market segmentation theory,this paper uses the data of China Migrants Dynamic Survey(CMDS)from 2010 to 2017 to make a statistical analysis of the current situation of education and income level of floating population.On this basis,this paper uses the mincer income equation model to estimate the educational return rate of the floating population,analyzes the changing trend,and uses the Heckman two-stage method and the instrumental variable method to solve the sample selectivity bias and endogeneity problems,and verifies the validity of the estimated results.The empirical results of this paper show that the educational return rate of floating population shows an upward trend,but the overall level is still at a low level,and there is significant heterogeneity among different gender,household registration,industry and income groups.In terms of the heterogeneity of different groups,the educational return rate of women is significantly higher than that of men in most years.The educational return rate of urban household registration is significantly higher than that of rural household registration,and the gap between them shows a trend of increasing year by year.The educational return rate of the tertiary industry with higher added value is higher than that of the secondary industry and the tertiary industry with lower added value.The educational return rate of low-income and high-income groups is higher,while that of middle-income groups is lower.According to a series of problems found in the empirical analysis of the floating population’s educational return rate,this paper proposes the following policy Suggestions,in order to promote the accumulation of the floating population’s human capital and the promotion of wage income,which mainly include: increasing the investment in education,improving the floating population’s educational level;Ensuring women’s right to education and equality in employment;Balancing urban and rural development and eliminating discrimination based on household registration;To break down industrial barriers and promote the free movement of labor;Treating different income groups differently and narrowing the income gap.