Institutional Discrimination and Urban-Rural Educational Inequality in China: Evidence from a Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design

This paper investigates the causal relationship between Hukou status and individuals' educational attainment in China. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, the study leverages the sharp increase in urban Hukou holders after 1977 due to exogenous policy changes to identify the causal impact of Hukou status. The results show that urban Hukou significantly increases educational outcomes, leading to 5.64 to 6.26 additional years of schooling and higher school enrollment rates in secondary and tertiary education compared to rural Hukou. These findings provide empirical evidence supporting ongoing Hukou reform efforts and contribute to the broader understanding of institutional discrimination in China’s education system.