Narrowing the urban-rural income distribution gap is of great significance to promoting coordinated regional development and realizing common prosperity in China. Based on the provincial panel data from 2012 to 2021, this paper empirically examines the impact of public education expenditure on the urban-rural income distribution gap under the moderating effect of local government debt. The research shows that public education expenditure can significantly narrow the urban-rural income distribution gap; local government debt has a negative moderating effect on the impact of public education expenditure on the urban-rural income distribution gap. Further analysis shows that when the local government debt scale is in the range of two threshold values of 8.53 and 8.75, the effect of public education expenditure on narrowing the urban-rural income distribution gap is more obvious; in less developed areas, the moderating effect of local government debt on the impact of public education expenditure on the urban-rural income distribution gap is stronger. This paper can provide decision-making reference for government departments to better allocate education resources and strengthen local government debt management.

Ye Yuankang. The Impact of Public Education Expenditure on the Urban-rural Income Distribution Gap: Based on the Moderating Effect of Local Government Debt. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2024) Vol. 7, Issue 5: 79-87. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2024.070514.

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