| ID | 141112 |
| Title Proper | Reassessing disparity in access to higher education in contemporary China |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Hu, Anning |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In this commentary on the research note by Wang Xiaobing, Chengfang Liu, Linxiu Zhang, Yaojiang Shi and Scott Rozelle, “College is a rich, Han, urban, male club: research notes from a census survey of four tier one colleges in China,” I address several caveats in using the relative disparity index in assessing the extent of inequality in access to higher education. Based on these discussions, I point out the potential limitations existing in the empirical study of Wang and colleagues, and reassess the extent of disparity in college education opportunities in contemporary China using data from the 2010 Chinese General Social Survey. Although the descriptive patterns consolidate the study of Wang and colleagues, only household registration status is significantly associated with the likelihood of attending college. These findings indicate that disparities per gender, economic status, and ethnicity based on a limited number of colleges are likely to be subject to sampling errors. Finally, no interaction effects between socio-demographic factors are detected. I offer some reflections on the disproportionality approach in the research of education inequality. |
| `In' analytical Note | China Quarterly No. 220; Dec 2014: p.1123-1130 |
| Journal Source | China Quarterly No 220 |
| Key Words | China ; Higher Education ; Disparity |