Data and Code for: Special Economic Zones and Human Capital Investment: 30 Years of Evidence from China

By
exploiting the large quantity and rich variety of special economic zones (SEZs)
in China, this study investigates how such zones affect human capital
investment. Results show that SEZs significantly increase the local high school
enrollment rate, but the impact varies across zone types: technology-oriented
zones encourage education, while export-led zones discourage it. The increased
job opportunities and wage premiums inside SEZs for employees with high school
education increase high school enrollment, while such opportunities and wages
for employees with middle school education decrease enrollment. A very small
portion of the impact, if any, can be attributed to increased income.

依托中国数量众多、类型多样的经济特区（Special Economic Zones，SEZs），本研究考察了此类特区对人力资本投资的影响效应。研究结果显示，经济特区可显著提升本地高中入学率，但不同类型特区的作用效果存在异质性：技术导向型特区会推动教育投入，而出口导向型特区则会抑制教育投入。经济特区内部为高中学历劳动者提供的新增就业岗位与薪资溢价，推高了本地高中入学率；而针对初中学历劳动者的同类就业机会与薪资提升，则会降低高中入学率。即便存在上述影响，其中仅有极小一部分可归因于居民收入的提升。