China’s higher education expansion and the task of economic revitalization

Abstract

This paper centers on the expansion from elite to mass higher education in China and its effects on China's economic development. These effects are twofold, including both the immediate influence of expanded enrollment in higher education on China's economy, and the human capital accumulation for the long term. The paper first provides a description of key changes in the Chinese higher education system during this radical expansion. This is followed by an analysis of the relation between higher education expansion and economic development both in terms of short and long term goals, using the Keynesian economic principle and human capital theory. The analysis found that it is premature to conclude whether the expansion policy has revitalized the economy or not in the short term. China is achieving its long term goal of accumulating human capital; however, the mounting unemployment of postsecondary graduates is jeopardizing students' private returns.

Higher education development in Korea: western university ideas, Confucian tradition, and economic development

“…Education was not regarded as independent from economic development, but as a supporting system through producing a trained and educated population. This is similar to other Asian countries where economic development is the priority (e.g., Cummings 2011;Wu et al 1989;Wang and Liu 2010).…”

“…From an economic point of view, higher education enrollment has both positive and also negative sides (e.g., Heckman 2003). Although access to higher education has been emphasized and many countries have focused on enhancing tertiary enrollment, an oversupply of tertiary educated people is a cause of unemployment and may be an obstacle to further economic development (e.g., Wang 2003;Wang and Liu 2010). On the other hand, under-education is also detrimental to economic development, especially in a knowledge-based economy.…”

Pushing too Little, Praising too Much? Intercultural Misunderstandings between a Chinese Doctoral Student and a Dutch Supervisor

“…in China in contrast, as in many other Asian countries that share a Confucian heritage culture, the main goal of education is oriented more toward qualification (niu, 2007;Wang & Liu, 2011). The overvaluation of academic achievement has been heavily criticized, leading to a new curriculum as of 2001 that emphasizes individual development more (Paine & Fang, 2006), yet the effects of this change have not yet been observed.…”

“…The overvaluation of academic achievement has been heavily criticized, leading to a new curriculum as of 2001 that emphasizes individual development more (Paine & Fang, 2006), yet the effects of this change have not yet been observed. The Chinese government emphasizes education as a means to prepare a workforce for economic development (Wang & Liu, 2011). China uses an exam-based filtering system, typically the national College Entrance Exam, and education has functioned as a way to improve social status (niu, 2007;Shin, 2012).…”

China's Top-up Policy and the Role of Community College-Like Institutions in Educational Expansion

“…Although the first Minban (people-run) college was established in 1982, private higher education has only begun to flourish within the context of China's policy commitment to rapid educational expansion in the transition from a planned to a market economy. In 1997, there were 20 private higher-education institutions providing formal programs with an enrollment of 14,000 students, only 0.2% of total enrollments (Wang & Liu, 2011). After the Law for Promoting Minban Education was passed in 2003, the number of private higher-education institutions increased to 640 (including independent institutions) by 2008.…”