Returns to schooling in China under planning and reform

Using retrospective data covering the period from 1950 to 1994, we find that schooling returns declined prior to the Cultural Revolution (CR) and returns for non-college graduates becoming negligible. Returns to those with some college education remained low compared to other countries. Consistent with other studies, returns to schooling did not recover from their CR low until the 1990s. Increases in returns were not associated directly with changing jobs or with taking new-economy jobs. The workers most likely to leave jobs in the traditional ownership sector for jobs in the private or joint-venture categories were those who entered the labor force prior to 1967. (c) 2005 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.