Analysis Of Chinese National College Entrance Examination’s Effect on Labor Outcomes and Happiness

Abstract

This study evaluates the impact of earning an undergraduate degree on one's level of happiness, work prospects, income, and subjective life quality based on the logical outcome that one's college entrance exam score exceeds the threshold for undergraduate admission. This study's primary empirical methodology is the Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD), which examines undergraduates of science and art fields individually and urban and rural subgroups in terms of their return to Chinese higher education. Under the Chinese College Admission System (CAS), the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) scores are the most essential benchmark for enrolling students, which are the well-defined cutoffs for applying the RDD method. More specifically, the study focuses on two aspects of “a better life”: material and mental. The material aspect is indicated by the yearly income and the probability of getting a job. The level of happiness and subjective life quality reflects the mental aspect. The results show that having an undergraduate degree or passing the score line does not significantly impact life quality and labor market outcomes. However, the result still indicates that higher scores can make people earn more and happier. Meanwhile, age seems to be a more critical factor in explaining the labor market outcomes. At the same time, life quality is likely to be determined by factors other than academic performance and working experience.