蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Returns to Education: The Roles of Income, Gender, and Occupations
蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings
vol. 115,
May 2025
(pp. 664–68)
Abstract
This study explores how broader educational returns information shapes students' aspirations, focusing on gender-specific income differences and occupational education requirements. Our experiment with 582 middle school students in northeast China shows that occupational information motivates students to set higher short- and long-term educational goals. However, gender-specific income information had differing effects: Male students raised their aspirations, while female students did not. Additionally, occupational information influenced male and female students differently, driven more by biased perceptions of educational requirements than occupational preferences. These findings highlight the importance of addressing tangible returns, occupational preferences, and perceptions to support informed educational decisions.Citation
Wang, Siyu, Hui Xu, Meng Shen, and Delong Meng. 2025. "Returns to Education: The Roles of Income, Gender, and Occupations." 蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings 115: 664–68. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20251095Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I26 Returns to Education
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- 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
- P36 Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions: Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training: Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty