Labor Market Experience and Returns to Education in Fast Growing Economies
Lecture | May 26, 2017 | 15:00-17:00 p.m. | Room 106B of Zhonghui Building

Speaker: Wu Bin-zhen, Qinghua University
Sponsor: Economic and Social Development Institute of Jinan University

ABOUT WU BIN-ZHEN
Wu Bin-zhen is Associate Professor of Department of Economics of School of Economics and Management in Qinghua University. He attained his PhD in economics in. His main research areas include public economics, development economics, pedagogical economics, and applied microeconomics. He worked on projects from Natural Science Foundation of China and . He has published papers in international journals such as Games and Economic Behavior、Journal of Development Economics、Journal of Comparative Economics、Journal of Economic Perspectives、American Economic Review Papers and Proceeding、Economic Development and Cultural Change、China Quarterly, and domestic journals such as Economic Research Journal, Social Sciences in China, China Economic Quarterly, Journal of Financial Research, and The Journal of World Economy.

ABSTRACT
China's college admissions increased by seven times in a decade. While the college premium for young workers declined, that for senior workers increased in the same period. In our general equilibrium model, a rising demand for skills (education and experience) explains both trends. Because the supply of education is elastic, a demand shock leads to college expansion, depressing the college premium for young workers. With an inelastic supply, experienced workers continue to enjoy a rising premium. Despite the low immediate college premium, young individuals continue to flood into colleges because they foresee high lifetime returns. Simulations match empirical results well.