







































 

 

 

 

 

The Role of Education in Urbanization: 

An Empirical Study Based on China’s 

Provincial-Level Panel Data from 

2005 to 2020

Boshen Wan,
1
 Weifang Min

1,2
 

 
1 Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.  

2 East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China 

 

Abstract: Urbanization is a crucial factor in economic growth and common 

prosperity and thus an inevitable pathway to a nation’s modernization. To achieve 

the goal of common prosperity of Chinese society as a whole, it is imperative to 

enhance the education level of its farmers, accelerate the construction of the new 

countryside, and develop modern, large-scale agriculture, so as to liberate more 

farmers from the agricultural labor and allow them to enter the secondary and 

tertiary sectors of economy that provide higher incomes. This study seeks to verify 

the promotional effect of education on the urbanization level by utilizing the 

provincial-level panel data from 2005 to 2020 in China. The two-way fixed effects 

model is adopted in the analysis. Research findings include that: (i) Investment in 

education has substantial promotional effects on the urbanization level; (ii) 

Economic growth and technological advancement significantly advances the 

progression of urbanization; (iii) The development level of the region can moderate 

the impact of education on urbanization. 

Best Evidence in Chinese Education 2023; 15(2):1801-1805. 

Doi: 10.15354/bece.23.ar097 

How to Cite: Wan, B., & Min, W. (2023). The impact of family background on 

subject selection in senior secondary school students in the context of the reform of 

college entrance examination: An empirical study based on survey data from 

Zhejiang province. Best Evidence in Chinese Education, 15(2):1801-1805. 

Keywords: Education, Urbanization, Two-way Fixed Effects Model, Panel Threshold 

Regression 

 

 

 



Wan & Min. (Beijing & Shanghai, China). Role of Education in Urbanization. 

BECE, Vol.15, No.2, 2023 1802 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

About the Author: Boshen Wan , Graduate School of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. 

Correspondence to: Weifang Min, Institute of Economics of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; 

Educational Economics Laboratory, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China. E-mail: 

wfmin@pku.edu.cn  

Conflict of Interests: None. 
 

© 2023 Insights Publisher. All rights reserved. 

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the 

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 License 

(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of 

the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed by the Insights Publisher. 

mailto:wfmin@pku.edu.cn
http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/


Wan & Min. (Beijing & Shanghai, China). Role of Education in Urbanization. 

BECE, Vol.15, No. 2, 2023 1803 

Introduction 

Education is one of the major drivers for Urbanization. Educational Advancement leads 

to the increased agricultural productivity, liberating more farmers from agricultural la-

bor, who can move to cities or start up their own businesses in towns, thus promoting 

the development of towns. In the meantime, the enhanced quality of education contrib-

utes to the improvement of comprehensive competence of individuals, facilitating the 

migration of the rural population and its adaptation to urban life. Existing research 

largely used the average years of education as a proxy variable for the development lev-

el of education, with few studies focusing on the impact of investment in education on 

the urbanization level. Research into the relation between investment in education and 

urbanization is of significant practical implications, potentially providing relevant evi-

dence for policy makers.  

Analysis Framework 

Push-Pull-Mooring Migration Model 

The push and pull theory is an important theory in population migration research, which 

describes human migration as the result of joint effects of the push from the native place 

and the pull from the targeted destination (Dorigo & Tobler, 1983). Mooring factors 

refer to the intervening obstacles, both personal and social, that undermine the migra-

tion intention of individuals and retain them in the original residence. They are related 

to personal needs for stable life, psychology, and relationships. To choose to migrate, 

the individual needs to forgo the stable state of life. 

Paths of the Impact of Education on the Urbanization 

Level 

Drawing on Bruce Moon’s push-pull-mooring migration model, this study analyzed the 

three paths through which education affects the urbanization level: (i) Educational de-

velopment helps boost the productivity of rural areas, so reducing the demand for agri-

cultural labor and increasing the migration intention of rural population; (ii) Educational 

development offsets the effect of mooring factors on the migration of individuals to 

certain extent, thus promoting the urbanization of the population; (iii) Education con-

tributes to enhancing the attraction of the city and strengthening its convergence effect, 

so increasing the pull of urban areas in terms of migration. 

Research Design 

Variables and Sources of Data 

Dependent Variable 



Wan & Min. (Beijing & Shanghai, China). Role of Education in Urbanization. 

BECE, Vol.15, No. 2, 2023 1804 

This study used the urbanization rate of permanent residents as the proxy variable for 

the urbanization level of each province, measured by the statistical caliber of urban 

permanent residents/total permanent residents. 

Core Independent Variable 

The average years of education of the labor force served as the core independent varia-

ble to represent the quantitative characteristics of a region’s stock of human capital. 

Investment in education was the proxy variable for the region’s overall quality of edu-

cation. The study derived data in this regard from the China Educational Expenditures 

Statistical Yearbook, which includes various types of educational expenditures such as 

national fiscal education funds, publicly budgeted education funds, organizational in-

vestment, and social donations in each province. Investment in education is proportion-

ate to the size of the population of the region. Given that, this study calculated the per 

capita educational expenditure by dividing total educational expenditure with the popu-

lation of registered residence, which entered the model for regression.  

Control Variables 

Control variables for this study included per capita regional gross domestic product 

(GDP), the number of patents, the industrial structure optimization index, the proportion 

of foreign direct investment (FDI) in GDP, and the proportion of total import and export 

in GDP. 

Results of the Analysis 

i. Regression Results Based on the Core Independ-

ent Variable as a Quantitative Index 

Without incorporating any control variable, the average years of education had no sig-

nificant impact on the level of urbanization. With control variables included, the aver-

age years of education in test and those of the next year still had no effect on the urban-

ization rate. Among aforementioned control variables, only per capita GDP and the 

number of patents had significantly positive impacts on the urbanization level. The av-

erage schooling years of the year after the next significantly affected the urbanization 

rate. 

ii. Regression Results Based on Both the Quantita-

tive and Qualitative Indexes 

The per capita educational expenditure had a significantly positive effect on the urbani-

zation rate. The per capita GDP and the number of patents could remarkably and posi-

tively impact the urbanization level. At the same time, the average years of education, 

the proportion of FDI in GDP, and the share of import and export in GDP had no sub-

stantial effect on the urbanization level. 



Wan & Min. (Beijing & Shanghai, China). Role of Education in Urbanization. 

BECE, Vol.15, No. 2, 2023 1805 

iii. Non-linear Relation between Education and Ur-

banization 

When other conditions controlled, the lower the city’s economic growth rate, technolog-

ical level, and industrial structure optimization index, the more promotional effect the 

education expenditure had on urbanization. 

Conclusion 

Using provincial-level panel data from 2005 to 2020 in China, this study examined the 

impact of education on urbanization, taking into consideration the quantity and quality 

dimensions of education. Based on the analysis results, it reached conclusions as fol-

lows: (i) The quality of education is more fundamental to the rise of urbanization level 

than the stock of human capital; (ii) Economic growth and technological advancement 

can significantly advance the progression of urbanization; (iii) The development level 

of the region can moderate the promotional effect of education on urbanization.. 

 

 

 

 

Reference 

Dorigo, G. & Tobler, W. (1983). Push-pull migration laws. Annals of the Association of 

American Geographers, 73(01):1-17. 

 

 

The Chinese version of this article has been published in Journal of East China Normal University 

(Educational Sciences), 2023; 41(10):40-52. The English version has been authorized for being publi-

cation in BECE by the author(s) and the Chinese journal. 

万博绅, 闵维方. (2023). 教育影响城镇化水平的实证研究—基于中国 2005—2020 年省级面板数
据.华东师范大学学报(教育科学版), 41(10):40-52. 

 

 
 

Received: 12 October 2023 

Revised: 29 October 2023 

Accepted: 07 November 2023 

 

 

 

 

 


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