China & World Economy / 125–150, Vol. 28, No. 6, 2020

The Impacts of Highly Resourced Vocational Schools
on Student Outcomes in China

Guirong Li, Jiajia Xu, Liying Li, Zhaolei Shi, Hongmei Yi, James Chu, Elena Kardanova, Yanyan Li, Prashant Loyalka, Scott Rozelle

Abstract

Policymakers in developing countries have prioritized the mass expansion of vocational education and training (VET). This study examines whether the quality of VET in developing countries increases by investing greater resources per student. To achieve this goal, we examine the impacts of attending model schools (which have far more resources per student) on a range of student cognitive, non-cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. Using representative data from a survey of approximately 12,000 VET students from China, multivariate regression and propensity score matching analyses show that attending model vocational high schools do not benefit student outcomes, despite their substantially greater resources.