Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Analyzing the Impact of the Higher Education System on Regional Socio-Economic Development

Abstract

Aim. The presented study summarizes the results of the analysis of modern approaches to assessing the higher education system in terms of its impact on the social and economic indicators of a region, describing a stakeholder approach to the classification of factors of a university’s influence on regional development.Tasks. The study aims to consider approaches to examining the activities of universities in the context of their impact on the development of a territory; to comparatively analyze social and economic indicators of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the education level of the employed population; to update the list of groups of stakeholders of the higher education system and to describe the parameters of university influence on the objects of one of the groups.Methods. This study analyzes the existing approaches of Russian and foreign researchers to assessing the contribution of the higher education system to socio-economic development as well as official statistics on the socio-economic development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.Results. A considerable number of diverse factors characterizing the influence of the higher education system on socio-economic development are identified. The authors describe the contribution of universities to the development of human capital, innovative and economic development, social policy and environmental well-being of the region. It is noted that the university’s academic reputation affects the competitiveness of the city and facilitates active international cooperation. A comparison of statistics on the proportion of employees with higher education among the working population (DHE) with various indicators of economic and social development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation shows that many regions with a more skilled workforce have higher gross regional product (GRP) per capita, higher life expectancy at birth, and lower working-age mortality than regions with low DHE. There are also negative trends in the higher education system, such as the declining number of university teaching staff over the last ten years. A stakeholder approach to the classification of factors of university influence on regional development is proposed. A group of stakeholders of the higher education system defined as “society” is introduced. The parameters of university influence on this group are described.Conclusions. The existing influence of universities on the socio-economic development of territories makes it necessary to put issues related to creating conditions for the optimization of interaction between various groups of stakeholders of the higher education system on the federal and regional agendas.