集权改革、城镇化与义务教育投入的城乡差距——基于刘易斯二元经济结构模型的分析

Centralization,Urbanization,and the Rural-Urban Gap in Compulsory Education Finance: Empirical Analysis Based on Lewis Model

基于刘易斯二元经济结构模型和1993-2010年分城乡省级面板数据,本文从理论和实证两个方面系统分析了近二十年我国义务教育投入的城乡差距及其演变机制。结果显示,我国义务教育投入的城乡差距呈现出先扩大后缩小的变化轨迹;其中,2000年之后城乡差距快速缩小与集权取向的农村义务教育财政体制改革和教育城镇化因素密切相关。然而,快速教育城镇化在造成农村在校生数减少及由此导致的低生师比等高成本因素的同时,也给城镇地区教育带来了"拥挤效应"。为了避免这种两难困境以及由此而导致的城乡生均教育投入的表面均衡,未来应稳步推进新型城镇化,继续上移部分农村义务教育财政负担责任,并根据城乡教育成本差异因素设计向农村倾斜的财政拨款政策,实现城乡义务教育的协调发展。

Applying the Lewis model to 1993 cally analyzed the ruraburban gap in compulsory -2010 provincial-level panel data, this study systematl- education finance and its evolution mechanism in near- ly 20 years. Results show that the rural-urban gap in compulsory education finance increased first and then declined quickly, especially after 2000, which could be largely attributed to centralization-oriented reforms on the rural compulsory education finance system and to education urbanization. However, rapid education urbanization, while decreasing the student-teacher ratio and thus raising the education cost in rural areas, also made urban schools and classrooms much more crowded than before. To avoid this dilemma and promote a balanced and coordinated development of education, we should steadily push forward new urbanization, continue to transfer part of the rural compulsory education fiscal re- sponsibility to the upper governments, and adjust funding formulae according to the corresponding cost in both rural and urban areas.