@article{Yang2026JIE,
title={On the Spatial Allocation of College Seats: Human Capital Production and the Distribution of Skilled Labor},
author={Yang, Yu (Alan)},
journal = {Journal of International Economics},
volume = {164},
pages = {104338},
year = {2026},
issn = {0022-1996},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2026.104338},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022199626001285},
keywords = {Regional inequality, Spatial sorting, Human capital, Place-based college admission},
abstract = {How college seats are allocated spatially creates a tradeoff between efficiency in aggregate human capital production and equality of college opportunities across regions. Because college attendance also assigns students to locations, admission policies can further shape the spatial distribution of skilled workers through post-college migration. I study province-based college admission quotas in China. Combining national administrative data and surveys, I estimate a dynamic model of college and migration choices under spatial quota constraints. I find substantial gaps in pre-college human capital among college applicants across provinces, while these differences are only partially reflected in the allocated quotas. A purely merit-based nationwide admission increases aggregate human capital at the cost of less equal college opportunities and substantially greater brain drain in less developed regions. Comparing the current spatial quotas against the efficiency-equality frontier implies a substantial policy weight on equalizing the spatial supply of skilled labor.}
}