Li Fengliang

Tsinghua University | TH · Institute of Education

Few empirical studies have analyzed the return to distance higher education in different academic disciplines. This study used quantitative methods, data from a nationwide survey, and Mincerian earnings function to analyze the return to distance higher education among different disciplines in China’s labor market. Results were compared with the ret...

Distance higher education plays a critical role in the promotion of regional equality in China by contributing to the availability of higher education. However, unbalanced regional development of distance higher education can lead to a widening of educational inequity. The study on which this article reports sheds light on the issue of unbalanced r...

Job match has always been the focus of educational research. However, current empirical studies are limited to the analysis of face-to-face education, and there’s no empirical study focusing on the job match of distance education. To fill the gap in this research field, this study analyzes the distance learners in China to demonstrate the relations...

With the expansion of distance education, the problem of over-education in the system of distance education has emerged, but it seems that none of the existing empirical studies have addressed this issue. This study conducts an empirical and comparative analysis of the problem of over-education between distance education and face-to-face education...

p class="3">The returns of traditional face-to-face education are widely analyzed, but there is a need for empirical studies on the returns of distance education. Further, comparative studies on returns of both traditional and distance education using high-quality data are rare. Since 1999, continuous and rapid expansions have occurred in the whole...

Since the 1990s, higher education at different levels has been expanding along with the high-speed development of the Chinese economy. Based on large-scale survey data of the whole country in 1995, 2002, 2008, and 2013, the paper studies the dynamic rates of return (ROR) to higher education at different levels in China. The empirical results show t...

It is well-known that engineering is a key profession for both economic and social development. This is as true for China as it is for other countries which are in the process of development. However, what are the economic incentives for young people to enter the profession today? Currently, there are many studies of the rate of return to education...

The Handbook of Education in China provides both a comprehensive overview and an original interpretation of key aspects of education in the People's Republic of China. With a sharp focus on specific policy areas and using both original Chinese sources and other commentaries, it expertly places the topic within its historical and political context....

This Handbook is offered as a timely and scholarly collection of historical perspectives, theoretical reflections and empirical evidence that contributes to our knowledge and understanding of the development of education in the People’s Republic of China. Although many scholars from around the world have written extensively about education in China...

Globalisation has reached every corner of the world in the 21st century. Recognising this opportunity, China’s official education strategy, “The National Outline for Medium- and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development (2010–2020)”, proposed a series of policies to promote internationalisation of education, including attracting more internation...

This paper uses survey data of college graduates throughout China conducted in 2003 by a Peking University research group and investigates the impact of parents' educational background on the studies and social activities of their children in college. The empirical results show that parents' educational background are positively associated with the...

Since China decided to expand its higher education, we have seen an increasing number of discussions of the relationship between educational expansion and equality. However, few studies have examined whether the expansion of distance higher education will improve educational equality among different regions. In this study, we analyzed the changes i...

Following the framework of Brinton and Kariya, and using a nationwide higher education graduates' survey (Graduate School of Education, Peking University in 2003), this article investigates the choices and the effects of institutional embeddedness for higher education graduates in China. Empirical results suggest that institutional embeddedness is...

In China, debates about higher education finance led to the introduction of a cost-sharing model, whereby students were required to pay tuition fees, over a decade ago. However, there is still significant resistance towards such a system within the broader society. In order to share insights into the development of the cost-sharing policy in China...

With the rapid development of information technologies, distance education has become “another form of product differentiation in the output mix produced by the multi-product university or college” (Cohn & Cooper, 2004, p. 607). This article aims at analyzing the economies of scope of distance education (as an educational output) in Chinese researc...

The chapter considers the interaction between Chinese private higher education and the accelerating globalization, especially focusing on underprivileged groups. Using empirical studies on related topics, the chapter reviews the current situation and suggests some trends. First, the features of Chinese private higher education are described. Second...

The chapter considers trends in the labour market for graduates in China, focusing on the low employment rate and the high incidence of over-educaiton. The chapter suggests what changes should take place in the higher education system if it is to match the needs and changes in the labour market more accurately. Finally, a brief set of conclusions i...

This article comments on several features of the rate of return (ROR) to educational investment in China: first, the ROR to educational investment has increased with the expansion of educational provision since the 1980s. Second, the greater the educational provision, the greater the ROR. Third, the ROR in urban areas is more than that in rural are...

This article investigates the relationship between the number of informational channels and overeducation in the outcome of job search, using the survey data of postgraduates in China. The empirical results show: (1) the more the informational channels of job search are used, the lower the probability and the less the intensity of over-education wi...

This paper empirically investigates the economies of scale and economies of scope for the Chinese research universities by employing the flexible fixed cost quadratic (FFCQ) function. The empirical results show that both economies of scale and economies of scope exist in the Chinese higher education system and support the commonly belief that unive...

In order to test two competitive theories, human capital theory and screening hypothesis, this article investigates the effects of minor, class rank and matched job on the starting wages of graduates using data sources from a nation-wide survey of university graduates in China undertaken in 2003 by the Graduate School of Education, Peking Universit...

The article considers the current situation in the labour market for higher education graduates in China, showing what kinds of graduates have an advantage when facing potential employers. Secondly, it discusses the tendency of supply and demand between higher education graduates and the labour market from the perspectives of employment probability...

Using data from a nation-wide survey of graduates undertaken in 2003, this article tests the screening hypothesis for the graduate job market by investigating the relationship among job search channels, educational level and the results of job searches. It is found that those at a lower educational level are more likely to choose informal channels....

The development of private higher education in China is an important area of policy concern and for academic research, especially under the conditions of globalization. This article reviews the current situation and forecasts the likely trend in several key areas, such as governmental regulation, funds and competition for enrolments. The article fo...