The Role of Education in Urbanization - An Empirical Study Based on China’s Provincial-Level Panel Data from 2005 to 2020

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr

Education functions as a key driver of urbanization, shaping economic growth and common prosperity. To support modernization, raising farmers’ education levels, accelerating new rural development, and expanding modern agriculture are viewed as pathways that reduce agricultural labor and enable movement to higher-income secondary and tertiary sectors. Using provincial-level panel data for 2005–2020, the study tests education’s promotion effect on urbanization via a two-way fixed effects model and finds significant roles for education investment, economic growth and technology, with regional development moderating impacts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Analysis Framework

Research Design

Variables and Sources of Data

Dependent Variable

Core Independent Variable

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](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 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](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/](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. Introduction Education is one of the major drivers for Urbanization. Educational Advancement leads to the increased agricultural productivity, liberating more farmers from agricultural labor, 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 contributes 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 level 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 evidence 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 obstac

FAQs

What role does education play in urbanization according to the study?

Education is presented as a major driver of urbanization by boosting rural productivity, easing migration constraints, and increasing the pull of urban areas.

How does the study measure the urbanization level?

It uses the urbanization rate of permanent residents as the proxy variable for each province’s urbanization level.

What methodology and key findings does the study report?

The analysis adopts a two-way fixed effects model, concluding that investment in education has substantial promotional effects, economic growth and technological advancement also advance urbanization, and regional development moderates education’s impact.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr