Prioritize University or Major? ——Impact of two horizontal stratification mechanisms for higher education on income

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6: Higher Education Outcomes

Abstract

In the context of the expansion of higher education, exploring the impact of the horizontal stratification of higher education (i.e., major categories and university quality tiers) on income returns is important for understanding social stratification in contemporary China. Against the backdrop of China's socialist market economy and tiering system of higher education, there exists a stronger effect of university quality tiers on income returns compared to major categories, and attending a higher tier of university is more likely to result in higher incomes. Since earnings from employment in the public sector are significantly higher than in the non-public sector, higher tiers of focused universities lead to higher earnings returns by enhancing the likelihood of graduates entering public sector employment. This paper analyzes the CGSS2018 information using multiple linear regression, logistic Steele regression, and KHB methods, to support the hypotheses based on the above discourse.

Authors

• Wendi Xue, University of Chicago

• Xin Liu, Fudan University