HIGHER EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

This paper highlights the role of higher education for the economic growth inPakistan. We explore the impact of increase in enrolment at tertiary level on thegrowth rate of income per worker. Estimating a growth model developed byMankiv et. al. (1992), using the annual data of Pakistan, we find a robustrelationship between higher education and economic growth in the long run. Themodel has also shown that investment in fixed capital has positive impact oneconomic uplift. Applying Johansen’s cointegration test, we show that the longrun elasticity of income with respect to capital stock is different from its share inGDP, and increase in the enrolment per unit of effective worker helps inbolstering economic growth. But, like earlier literature we also find statisticallyinsignificant relationship between higher education and GDP per worker. Thereare some fundamental reasons concerning to the ambiguous impact of investingin human capital on economic growth, particularly in the short run in case ofPakistan. First, the sharp increase in enrollment, recently, has been damaging thequality of education. Second, the unequal distribution of educational services hasheld back the efficiency of public expenditures, particularly before the reformsundertaken by higher education commission. Third, the low private return ofeducation has limited the demand for higher education in Pakistan for almost fiftyyears.