American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Special Economic Zones and Human Capital Investment: 30 Years of Evidence from China
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 15,
no. 3, August 2023
(pp. 35–64)
Abstract
By exploiting the large quantity and rich variety of special economic zones (SEZs) in China, this study investigates how such zones affect human capital investment. Results show that SEZs significantly increase the local high school enrollment rate, but the impact varies across zone types: technology-oriented zones encourage education, while export-led zones discourage it. The increased job opportunities and wage premiums inside SEZs for employees with high school education increase high school enrollment, while such opportunities and wages for employees with middle school education decrease enrollment. A very small portion of the impact, if any, can be attributed to increased income.Citation
Lu, Fangwen, Weizeng Sun, and Jianfeng Wu. 2023. "Special Economic Zones and Human Capital Investment: 30 Years of Evidence from China." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 15 (3): 35–64. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200492Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I26 Returns to Education
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- P23 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population
- R32 Other Spatial Production and Pricing Analysis
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