Returns to Education: The Roles of Income, Gender, and Occupations

This study explores how broader educational returns information shapes students' aspirations, focusing on gender-specific income differences and occupational education requirements. Our experiment with 582 middle school students in northeast China shows that occupational information motivates students to set higher short- and long-term educational goals. However, gender-specific income information had differing effects: Male students raised their aspirations, while female students did not. Additionally, occupational information influenced male and female students differently, driven more by biased perceptions of educational requirements than occupational preferences. These findings highlight the importance of addressing tangible returns, occupational preferences, and perceptions to support informed educational decisions.