The Consequences of the 1959–1961 Chinese Famine for Educational Attainment

This paper finds that the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–1961 reduced lifetime educational attainment by up to 3.8 years for people who lived in areas most severely hit by the famine. Using geographical variation in famine intensity, information about place of residence during the famine, and educatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The B.E. journal of economic analysis & policy 2020-04, Vol.20 (2)
Main Authors: Lay, Margaret J., Norling, Johannes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
China
Chinese history
cognition
education
Educational attainment
Famine
I20
N35
O12
Q18
Residence
Retirement
Women
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Summary:This paper finds that the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–1961 reduced lifetime educational attainment by up to 3.8 years for people who lived in areas most severely hit by the famine. Using geographical variation in famine intensity, information about place of residence during the famine, and educational attainment recorded in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, the paper demonstrates that the decline in educational attainment was particularly sharp for women. This decline interrupted substantial gains in schooling achieved in China during the middle part of the twentieth century.
ISSN:1935-1682
2194-6108
1935-1682
DOI:10.1515/bejeap-2019-0112