教育对个人收入差异的影响

The Impact of Education on Income Difference in Urban China

本文在明瑟收入函数的基础上对我国城镇职工的收入影响因素进行了计量回归分析。实证研究的结果表明：近年来我国城镇职工的教育收益率有显著的提高，并且随着受教育程度的提高年均教育收益率呈提高的趋势；教育对个人收入的直接影响是显著的，但是教育并不是影响个人收入的决定性因素，行业差异和地区差异等因素对个人收入也起着非常显著的作用；只有受高等教育者跨行业流动的能力才更明显，并通过流动提高个人的收入；在目前的学费水平下，高等教育投资的直接教育净收益是正的，如果再考虑高等教育的间接收益。那么高等教育的总回报可以到达非常高的水平。

Using the Mincer income function this paper investigates econometrically the main factors that had significant impacts on the enlarging income gaps among Chinese urban laborers. The regression results provide a number of findings. First, the Mincerian rate of return to education had maintained a remarkable rising trend in the 1990s. Second, education has remarkable impacts on individual income, but it is not the key factor. Third, only people with college or postgraduate diplomas have significant capacity of inter-regional mobility. Finally, under the current level of tuition, the net return of higher education is positive, and the total return could reach a very high level if the indirect return were also considered.