Focusing on Human Capital Improvement and Income Growth: Evidence from National Household Panel Data in Rural China
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| Title | Focusing on Human Capital Improvement and Income Growth: Evidence from National Household Panel Data in Rural China
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| Author | Cheng Mingwang, Shi Qinghua and Jin Yanhong |
| Organization | Tongji University;ShangHai JiaoTong University; The State University of New Jersey |
| Email | walkercheng@163.com；shq@sjtu.edu.cn；Jin Yanhong；yjin@aesop.rutgers.edu |
| Key Words | Human capital improvement; Household income in rural China; Return rate; Contribution rate; National Rural Fixed Observation Point |
| Abstract | Based on nationally representative rural household panel data from 2003 through 2010, using methods of descriptive statistics and econometric analysis, we examine how improvements in human capital affect the income level in rural China. We find that human capital improvement, including health, basic education, skills training and work experience, is significant factor affecting the level of household income. The total contribution rate of human capital improvement to household income growth is 38.57%,which health and basic education are the most prominent influence factors. Human capital is mainly through the labor income impact on household income, which is the most significant to wage income. The effects of human capital vary by region and year and across different income sources, which show that human capital for the role of household income growth maintains a weakening trend with the market-oriented reform. The findings suggest that improving human capital, especially health and education improvement, is an important mechanism to increase income level in rural China, but different policy focuses should been designed for different regions and across income sources. |
| Serial Number | WP724 |
| Time | 2014-10-10 |
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