Return of education investment in China: a case comparison between rural and urban students

Business English was officially approved to be an undergraduate major in China in 2007, which set off throughout China a boom of establishing Business English programs in universities. Students swarm towards schools with Business English programs expecting their high job prospects after graduation. This study is a follow-up study comparing the return to education for two groups of graduates in Business English, one group graduating in 2013 as the first graduates of Business English in Guangzhou, the other group graduating in 2017. Online surveys were conducted to investigate whether urban and rural students differed in terms of starting salaries, job prospects and further study decisions after they completed the same popular program, and how their family backgrounds might have affected their education decisions. The first survey in 2013 confirmed such a gap between rural and urban students in their jobs and careers; but the follow-up study in 2017 found that a change is taking place: rural and urban graduates are hardly distinguishable in their salaries and career decisions. A comparison of the serial studies suggests a higher rate of return for rural graduates in Business English program. Although this is only a case study for one particular program, it provides a window to rethink how opportunities and challenges surface for rural students amid China's education expansion and urbanization movement.

Published abstract. Show less