BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.8, No.1, 2021 1069 

 

 

 

 

Can Investment in Vocational Education Increase the 

Income of the Rural Labor Force? 

By Qi, Z., & Xie, J. 
Correspondence to: Qi, Z., Shaanxi Normal Univeristy, China. Email: 

qizhanyong@snnu.edu.cn 

REVIOUS researches prove that vocational education is highly coupled 

with the development of the economy and society in rural areas. Howev-

er, the rate of returns in vocational education on rural labor force with vari-

ous income levels still requires further investigation. On the basis of data 

from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2018, recently a study published in 

Educational Research explored the validity of vocational education in pro-

moting the increase of different income level of the rural labor force, through 

the counterfactual estimation based on Propensity Score Matching (PSM) 

and the expanded Mincer Equation. 

The results are as follows: 

 To some extent, vocational education indeed played the role of 

promoting the increment of the rural labor force, which shows a 

significant effect on the economic benefits of rural labor. 

 Secondary vocational education has effectively promoted the in-

crease of rural labor income, but the marginal rate of returns of 

relative income has gradually reduced. 

 Regarding higher education, the positive effects of investments 

in higher vocational education are generally lower than those of 

undergraduate education. 

 The rural labor force cultivated by vocational education is more 

in line with the demand of the employment market. 

This study showed that vocational education can promote the increase 

of the rural labor force, but the potential of income increase needs to be fur-

ther improved. This requires thinking outside the box, other than trapped in 

the economic model of whether the rural labor income increase and invest-

ment vocational education are cost-effective, but to consider the two-way 

coupling between the benign interaction and symbiotic development from the 

perspective of symbiosis. To be specific, suggestions have been put up as fol-

lows: broaden the appeal for rural educators on vocational education; consol-

idate the foundational status of secondary vocational education; reasonably 

P 



 

Vol.8, No.1, 2021 1070 

arrange higher vocational education; give full play to the advantages of ef-

fective linking vocational education with the labor market. 

 

Source: Educational Research, 2021; 42(2):97-111.