Unveiling the motivation and push factors of pursuing Economics Doctoral Degrees in China

It generally takes a lot of time and hard-work to complete a PhD program. Thus, most Chinese universities cannot full fill their PhD admission plans just a few years ago. However, things have changed dramatically over the years. Nowadays, the rate of acceptance for PhD applicants can be well below twenty percent even in the second tier universities. This trend in education will have large impact on the educational system, students as well as the labor market. It is worth questioning why more and more Chinese people are interested in pursuing a PhD degree, especially in Economics related majors. Therefore, this paper intends to figure out the push factors and motivations behind the growing popularity of PhD programs in Economics, through a combined method of questionnaire surveys and interviews. Specifically, 20 PhD students in Economics related majors at Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences were randomly selected to complete a questionnaire. First, general information were collected though the first 5 questions. Next, 21 specific questions were asked, covering all possible explanations and implications for the popularity of the PhD programs. Then, interviews were conducted among these students to provide supplementary information. Finally, the results were summarized and analyzed. Conclusions drawn from the results suggested that students decision towards education could have been affected by factors such as social recognition, government policies and current job market. This paper provides rich information on China’s highest education and high-end talents, which can be useful for researchers, educational institutions, employers and future students. Key words: Doctoral education; Economics education; Attractiveness of education; Quality of education; Returns of education; Value of PhD; Driving forces; Incentive