The Scale and Structure of Funding Expenditures for China’s First-class Universities

Adequate funding is identified as a crucial factor in ensuring the success of these universities, impacting talent cultivation, scientific research, and social services. Since the 1990s, China has launched several key projects to enhance the development of its first universities and aimed at elevating these institutions to world-class status. Using data from 34 first-class universities in China from 2014 to 2022, this study analyzes the characteristics and differences in expenditure. It employs an independent sample t-test model to compare the C9 League universities with other first-class universities. The findings reveal significant gaps in total expenditure and varying priorities in expenditure categories, with education being the dominant expenditure item. The study concludes with suggestions for optimizing the efficiency of fund utilization to support the development of world-class universities in China.