Investments in human capital: The evidence from China’s new rural pension scheme

Human capital accumulation is a radical cure for income inequality and poverty issues in the process of economic development. In addition to exploring the impact of education-related policies on human capital investment, many scholars have begun to pay attention to the spillover effect of non-education policies on human capital investment behaviors. In this paper, we investigate whether the New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) initiative has had an impact on human capital investment behavior in rural China. We use a China Family Panel Studies sample and apply propensity score matching and difference-in-differences methodologies to test for the causal effects of this reform initiative. The results show that NRPS has had a positive effect on households’ human capital investments. In particular, education expenditures on children aged zero to 16 years increased substantially as a result of NRPS, with a more substantial causal effect for girls and in wealthier provinces. The results should be of great interest to academicians and policymakers interested in public policy and development.