The Development of Professional Manpower in Mainland China in the 1990s

Abstract

Human resources gained importance in mainland China in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the development of the market and the influx of foreign investment. Alarmed by the increasing loss of professional staff, preeminent scholars called for a respect for intellectuals and for the cultivation of highly qualified manpower. In response, the government has adopted various measures to improve the living standard of intellectuals, accelerate the development of higher education, encourage scientific research and development, and develop the job training industry. In recent years, the PRC has made a bid to enhance international competitiveness, with the further development of high-tech manpower being designated as one of the new major tasks. Nonetheless, this analysis finds that the efficiency of human capital investment has been much hampered by imperfections in the allocation system for manpower and the perennial brain drain problem.