Educational equity serves as the cornerstone for building a powerful nation in education. Focusing on the foundational stage of compulsory education, this study comprehensively analyzes the inter-provincial disparities, spatio-temporal dynamic distributions, and equity characteristics of per-student public budgetary expenditure in primary education across 31 provinces in China from 2021 to 2025. By employing statistical methods such as the range, Gini coefficient, and Lorenz curve, the study reveals several key findings. First, during the research period, although the total funding for primary education in China experienced continuous growth, the spatial non-equilibrium of resource allocation remained prominent. The range of total inter-provincial fiscal investment exhibited an expanding trend, indicating that the regional agglomeration of incremental funds and the “Matthew effect” have not been fundamentally reversed. Second, leveraging its robust fiscal foundation and strong capacity to absorb social capital, the eastern region consistently occupied a high position in resource agglomeration, whereas the central and western regions (particularly the west) faced a rigid financing structure heavily dependent on central transfer payments. Furthermore, a significant “center-periphery” disparity was observed within the eastern region itself. Third, the Gini coefficient of per-student public budgetary expenditure in primary education demonstrated an “initially decreasing and subsequently increasing” fluctuating trend, with values in all years far exceeding the relatively equitable interval of 0.2-0.3. This highlights profound spatial inequalities and resource dislocations. On this basis, this paper proposes policy recommendations. These include optimizing the structure of transfer payments to implement “precision irrigation”, advancing the standardized construction of urban-rural integration, and deepening the “county-managed and school-hired” system for cross-regional teacher sharing. Additionally, it suggests constructing digital governance and dynamic adjustment mechanisms, and innovating diversified financing channels to leverage social capital. These recommendations aim to provide empirical evidence and policy references for the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education in China.
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Share and Cite
Jin, Y. (2026) Inter-provincial Disparities in Public Expenditure on Primary Education in China: Evidence from Panel Data of 31 Provinces (2021-2025). Global Education Bulletin, 3(2), 23-31. https://doi.org/10.71052/grb2025/IZKE7403