The analysis of market concentration in Hungarian tertiary education through enrolment data

Abstract

As a result of its dynamic growth, the service sector has become the dominant sector of national economies in developed countries. At the end of the 20th century people began to perceive tertiary education as a service and this has brought about a change in their attitude towards higher education considering it as a commodity that can be bought. Non-business services like higher education are increasingly shaped by market forces and marketisation trends. The study examines the market structure of Hungarian higher education sector through enrolment data in Academic Year 2010-11. The paper presents various metrics of concentration based upon the number of students. The data analysis is performed using the Lorenz curve, the Gini index (G), the concentration coefficient (C) and the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). The paper examines the market segmentation of higher education, specially focusing on the enrolment data of management and business studies of higher education.