Government Intervention in Postsecondary Education in Bulgaria

Bonev, Pavlin (2013): Government Intervention in Postsecondary Education in Bulgaria. Forthcoming in:

Abstract

In this paper, based on report published by the Bulgarian National Audit Office with reference to public university graduates entering the labor market, I try to outline possible ways to overcome labor market failure problem forced by inefficient public university funding. It is the Bulgarian Government and in particular Ministry of Education, Youth and Science that perform policy to contribute to achieve postsecondary labor market equilibrium. Based on the report findings, I argue that the subsidies allocated for public universities are quite high compared to the funds adopted for health services for example. It is not the high acceptance rate that are being achieved, but the admission quotas that are being defined by universities. I consider this as a precondition for the labor market failure problem. Thus supply and demand on specialists with university degree on labor market is unbalanced. This creates risk for inadequate managerial decisions when developing strategies and policies in the fields of labor market and university education. As a result labor market is saturated with specialists with some occupations, and shortage with others.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: public university funding, labor market failure problem, positive externalitites, postsecondary education
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I23 - Higher Education ; Research Institutions; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I24 - Education and Inequality; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I25 - Education and Economic Development; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I28 - Government Policy; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity

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