Access to public schools and the education of migrant children in China

Arbeitspapier

A significant proportion of migrant children in China are not able to attend public schools for lack of local household registration (HuKou), and turn to privately-operated migrant schools. This paper examines the consequences of such a partially involuntary school choice, using survey data and standardized test scores from field work conducted in Shanghai. We find that migrant students who are unable to enroll in public schools perform significantly worse than their more fortunate counterparts in both Chinese and Mathematics. We also use parental satisfaction and parental assessment of school quality as alternative measures of the educational outcome and find similar results. Our study suggests that access to public schools is the key factor determining the quality of education that migrant children receive.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 6853

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Education: Government Policy ; Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination ; Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
• Subject: education of migrant children ; migrant school ; standardized test score ; Binnenwanderung ; Kinder ; Migranten ; Schulbesuch ; Bildungsniveau ; China

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Chen, Yuanyuan ; Feng, Shuaizhang
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/67319
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET