The economic impact of universities: evidence from across the globe

Valero, Anna and Van Reenen, John ORCID: 0000-0001-9153-2907 (2018) The economic impact of universities: evidence from across the globe. Economics of Education Review, 68. pp. 53-67. ISSN 0272-7757

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Abstract

We develop a new dataset using UNESCO source materials on the location of nearly 15,000 universities in about 1,500 regions across 78 countries, some dating back to the 11th Century. We estimate fixed effects models at the sub-national level between 1950 and 2010 and find that increases in the number of universities are positively associated with future growth of GDP per capita (and this relationship is robust to controlling for a host of observables, as well as unobserved regional trends). Our estimates imply that a 10% increase in a region's number of universities per capita is associated with 0.4% higher future GDP per capita in that region. Furthermore, there appear to be positive spillover effects from universities to geographically close neighbouring regions. We show that the relationship between GDP per capital and universities is not simply driven by the direct expenditures of the university, its staff and students. Part of the effect of universities on growth is mediated through an increased s

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/economics-of-edu...
Additional Information:	© 2018 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
JEL classification:	I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education > I23 - Higher Education Research Institutions J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O10 - General O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O31 - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
Date Deposited:	17 Sep 2018 09:26
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2024 18:15
Projects:	ES/M010341/1
Funders:	Economic & Social Research Council
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/90227

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