Call for Papers [Special Topic]

Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to Greater Economic Growth?

The special topic calls for papers on Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to Greater Economic Growth? and such papers will appear in Higher Education of Social Science as a special column. 1
Affiliated research area: Economic Growth, Higher Education, Skills

Description
There is an enduring belief by UK policymakers that a large higher education sector is an important driver of long-run economic growth, which has been part of the narrative since the Robbins Report. Back then, there was plenty of conjecture and assumption, but strikingly little concrete evidence to support such a belief. This paper asks whether the evidence base has strengthened in the 50 years since it was published. It looks at a number of different growth equation specifications and, using international education data, attempts to draw out the contribution of both the number of, and the growth in, graduates since the 1960s. There are three main findings. Firstly, many growth relationships, including those estimated elsewhere in the literature, are quite sensitive to the countries included which often depends on the variables used and time period of analysis. I argue that, given these issues, growth equations should always be treated with caution. Secondly, and remembering this caveat, neither the increase nor the initial level of higher education is found to have a statistically significant relationship with growth rates both in the OECD and worldwide. This result is robust to numerous different specifications. Thirdly, there is some evidence, consistent with the existing literature, which levels of technical skills at the end of compulsory education matter. The employment of higher level technical skills (the number of employed researchers in an economy) is also a strong predictor of growth. This gives a possible mechanism linking the output of (some) of the higher education sector with economic growth. However, it does not imply that mass higher education necessarily leads to higher growth. This depends on the skills produced by an expanding tertiary sector and their utilisation (or underutilisation) in the jobs available to increasing numbers of graduates.

Requirements
In addition to the Review and Original Articles by invited speakers, we are inviting you to submit a relevant research paper on Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to Greater Economic Growth? for consideration. Papers will be subject to normal peer review and must comply with the Guide for Authors. To submit papers to the Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to Greater Economic Growth? Special Topic, please go to http://www.cscanada.net. With your submission, please state clearly to the editor that your manuscripts are submitted to the Special Topic Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to Greater Economic Growth?

Related Journals (Special issue):

Higher Education of Social Science Journal, ISSN 1927-0232 [Print]; ISSN 1927-0240 [Online]. http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/hess

Related Articles:
Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to Greater Economic Growth? doi: 10.1177/002795011322400103

About The Journal

Higher Education of Social Science (ISSN 1927-0232 [Print]; ISSN 1927-0240 [Online]) is a leading peer reviewed academic journal published bimonthly. The first publication time was 30th September, 2011. The journal promotes the exchange of ideas and rational discourse between practicing educators and educational researchers in social science aspect and contributes to the understanding and/or the improvement of educational processes and outcomes. The Journal aims to serve the needs of faculties, researchers, administrators and those concerned with the present and the future of higher education. This Journal also encourages discussions about higher education at the perspectives of social science within and among relevant professional and academic communities and researchers at social science 2 level. Articles will combine phenomenon analyses, the development of higher education, discussions of education methods and other issues which are important to faculty, administrators, and program managers. More detailed information about the journal can be discovered in http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/hess. We sincerely welcome you to submit articles to the special column of our journal. If you rightly have a manuscript in this field, please dont hesitate to write us an email with the subject of Submission for HESS Special Topic: Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to Greater Economic Growth? (http://cscanada.net/users/index.php/index/login). We look forward to your submission at hess@cscanada.org; hess@cscanada.net! More detailed information about the special topic, pertinent conferences, related journals (special issue) and relevant articles can be discovered from our websites: http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/hess/announcement/view/111

Higher Education of Social Science (HESS)

CSCanada Canadian Research & Development Center of Sciences and Cultures (CRDCSC) Address: 758, 77e AV, Laval, Quebec, H7V 4A8, Canada Http://www.cscanada.org; Http://www.cscanada.net E-mail: hess@cscanada.org; hess@cscanada.net; caooc@hotmail.com