The effects of education types in China's education reform on income and socioeconomics status

The Outline of the National Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020) marked China’s first comprehensive, long-term education policy. This plan recognized vocational education as a key driver of China’s socio-economic growth. However, many people in China hold negative views about vocational education, particularly on its impact on income and socioeconomic status. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of this education reform by analyzing changes in personal income and socioeconomic status across different education types, before and after its implementation. Using data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) collected over several years, this study applies a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) approach and regression analysis to identify key trends in vocational and general education. The results reveal several important findings. First, the study examines factors influencing personal income at individual level, including gender, years of education (YoE), years of work (YoW), current social status (CSS), and household location (Hl). The result indicates that vocational education contributes to higher income growth and reduces gender-based income disparities when compared to general education. Second, the study assesses the impact of education type on social status and demonstrates that general education has a more consistent impact on improving social status. Third, from the government’s perspective, the study explores the influence of varying provincial GDP levels on personal income, revealing that higher provincial GDP positively affects personal income across all education types, although the extent of this impact differs based on GDP level. Overall, these findings conclude that educational reform has positively influenced both personal income and socioeconomic status, highlighting the significant role of vocational education in fostering economic and social mobility