The Influence of Farmers' Educational Investment on the Income Gap Between Urban and Rural Areas

This paper summarizes the urban-rural income gap and the status of rural education in China, and reveals the current situation of the large urban-rural income gap. Taking the panel data of 31 provinces from 2004 to 2016, the paper further studies the impact of farmers' educational investment on the urban-rural income gap by using the random effect models. The results show that farmers' educational investment is an important factor affecting the urban-rural income gap. In addition, increasing the farmers' educational investment can narrow the urban-rural income gap. Although such impact has lagging effects, it will be highlighted in the long run. Based on the research findings, this paper puts forward recommendations from the government and farmers' perspectives.