In this study, the relationship between land-finance intensity and female educational attainment is examined. A provincial panel dataset for China from 2002 to 2023 is constructed. Two-way fixed effects and mediation models are estimated to identify the underlying mechanisms, and panel threshold models are adopted to test the conditional constraints imposed by government intervention and urbanization. A clear tradeoff is revealed by the findings. On average, land-finance intensity is positively associated with female educational attainment. A dual transmission pathway is identified by mediation analysis: local public education expenditure is significantly increased by land finance, which directly promotes female education, while the urban–rural income gap is simultaneously widened, thus restricting further educational progress. Nonlinear effects are also detected. The positive link between land finance and education is weakened in regions with strong government intervention or high urbanization. Regional heterogeneity is demonstrated by estimation results: the positive effect is strongest in western China, moderate but significant in eastern China, and insignificant in central China. Accordingly, a differentiated spatial governance strategy should be implemented by policymakers. Land revenues should be allocated to basic educational infrastructure in less urbanized regions, and the reduction in urban–rural opportunity gaps should be prioritized in developed regions.
Pang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.