Approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of investments in higher education

Abstract

Introduction. The role of the importance of higher education in the formation of human capital as a strategic resource of social progress and sustainable development of the country determines the relevance of studies that allow assessing the interdetermination of education and economic growth. The purpose of the article is to identify approaches to assessing the effectiveness of investments in higher education and modeling their impact on the economic growth of post-Soviet countries. Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study is testing the author's hypothesis and econometric modeling of the influence of macroeconomic indicators characterizing the state of the higher education system on the resulting indicator of gross domestic product per capita as an indicator of economic growth according to data from 15 post-Soviet countries. Methods of economic analysis, statistical and econometric methods were used. For empirical analysis, we used statistical data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the World Bank, and the United Nations. Results. The research hypothesis about the positive impact of spending on higher education on the economic growth of the post-Soviet countries has been confirmed. The greatest response to GDP per capita is observed from the indicators "Spending on research and development" and "Admission of high school graduates to higher education". Prediction of the obtained models shows the possibility of a significant increase in GDP per capita with an increase in spending on higher education with a corresponding congruent development of the institutional environment of the post-Soviet countries. Taking into account the identified factors makes it possible to determine priorities for a balanced education and innovation policy in the post-Soviet countries. Conclusions. Empirically substantiated the need to increase investment in the higher education sector to accelerate economic growth and level economic inequality, which must be taken into account when implementing policies in the context of structural reforms in higher education in post-Soviet countries and determining the amount of investment in higher education.