义务教育均等化与西部地区经济增长:基于“两基”计划的研究

The Equalization of Compulsory Education and Economic Growth in the Western Region:Research Based on the“Two-Base”Plan

作为重要的偏向型区域教育政策,“两基”计划实施至今已有多年,精准评估该计划对西部地区提升人力资本、强化增长绩效的政策效果具有重要意义。使用2003-2018年中国290个地级市的面板数据,采用DID估计“两基”计划对西部地区经济增长的影响。研究发现:一方面,“两基”计划使得西部地区GDP增长率相对提高0.997%,直接经济效益为416.95亿元。另一方面,“两基”计划效果具有较强的时间连续性,会持续促进经济增长。这符合教育政策的特征,“十年树木,百年树人”,提高教育投入,提升人力资本存量功在当代,利在千秋。因此,普及义务教育对于加快西部地区经济发展,构建和谐社会具有重要的现实价值。对此,现阶段应当加强教育资源供给侧结构性改革,利用政府转移支付和偏向性区域教育扶持政策,稳步增加中央及各级政府对内陆地区义务教育的投入力度,构建义务教育供给侧改革的长效机制,尤其注重政策实施的事后监督和评价体系,保证西部地区人力资本持续、稳定和健康增长。

As an important compensory regional education policy,the“Two-Base”Plan has been implemented for many years.Accurate evaluation of this plan is of great significance to the policy effect of improving human capital and strengthening growth performance in the western region.This paper uses the panel data of 290 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2018 to estimate the impact of the“Two-Base”Plan on economic growth in the western region by using DID.The results show that:on the one hand,the“Two-Base”Plan increases the GDP growth rate of the western region by 0.997%,and the direct economic benefit is 41.695 billion yuan.On the other hand,the effect of the“Two-Base”Plan has a strong time continuity,meaning that it will continue to promote economic growth.This is in line with the characteristics of the education policy:“ten years to grow trees,a hundred years to grow people”;the benefits of improving the investment in education,and enhancing the stock of human capital exist for the current children and also generations to come.Therefore,the universal policy of compulsory education has important practical value for economic growth in the western region and building a harmonious society.The central government should strengthen the education resource supply side structural reform at present stage,use government transfer payments and the preference policy of the regional education support to make a steady increase in the compulsory education investment of inland areas by central and all levels of governments,and build a long-term mechanism of the reform of compulsory education side.It is especially important to pay attention to the post supervision and evaluation system of policy implementation,and to ensure the sustained,stable and healthy growth of human capital in the western region.