Recent graduates whose parents work for the government are more likely to receive a higher starting salary, mainly because of their parents' political influence and resources, according to recent research from Tsinghua University.

Researchers found that graduates with officials in their family can earn 15 percent more at their first job out of college than others with the same academic abilities, the Beijing Evening News reported on Monday.

Li Hongbin, a professor with the Department of Economics at Tsinghua University who took part in the research, told the media that they came to the conclusion by comparing and analyzing a career survey done by the university in 2010 that sampled 6,059 students from 11 provinces throughout China.

According to the news portal, Li and his teammates first thought the high starting salary of officials' children was related to the relatively high education  of their parents. They also wondered whether officials' children work harder than others in universities.

However, the results of the analysis showed that the higher starting salary of the official children did not have much to do with the reasons listed above, Li said.

Li pointed out that the results echo public concerns over the abuse of power by government officials and reflect fears that corruption is rampant and that the powerful are using their positions for personal gain.

He added that more research should be done to study whether the salaries of these graduates rise more quickly than others.

Beijing Evening News