Does the Development of Information and Communication Technology and Transportation Infrastructure Affect China’s Educational Inequality?

Abstract

Educational inequality is an important factor in the development of human capital, and limits the output of regional economic activities. The unequal distribution of educational resources has become a hot topic noticed by the public, and has restricted sustainable economic growth. This paper provides a better understanding of educational inequality, and explores the impacts of information and communication technology (ICT) and transportation infrastructure on the distribution of educational resources. The panel data models are constructed to discuss the relationship among ICT, transportation infrastructure, and educational inequality, using the data of 31 provinces in China from 2006 to 2016. The empirical results show that there is a positive relationship between ICT and educational inequality, while transportation infrastructure can restrain the unequal distribution of educational resources. Moreover, there is a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between transportation infrastructure and educational inequality. Since China’s education reform in 2010, the relationship among ICT, transportation infrastructure, and educational inequality has been significantly changed, as well as the influence mechanism of ICT. In addition, transportation infrastructure in China western regions can effectively alleviate the problem of educational inequality, and its impact will increase with the growth of transportation investments. It is necessary to consider the rational allocation of educational resources, and this is essential to relieve the problem of educational inequality. Therefore, our results demonstrate the key roles of information technology and transportation network in the field of education, and provide some new ideas for the solution of educational inequality.

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