Role of Education in Economic Growth in the Russian Federation and Ukraine

Osipian, Ararat (2007): Role of Education in Economic Growth in the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Abstract

This study analyses the role and impact of education on economic growth in the two largest economies of the former Soviet Bloc, namely, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. It attempts to estimate the significance of different educational levels, including secondary and tertiary education, for initiating substantial economic growth that now takes place in these two countries. This study estimates the model of endogenous economic growth and the system of linear and log-linear equations that account for different time lags in the possible impact of higher education on economic growth. The model estimation shows that there is no significant impact of educational attainment on economic growth. The results from the system of equations indicate that an increase in access of population to higher education brings positive results for the per capita GDP growth in the long term. Increasing the number of college-educated specialists leads to sustainable economic growth. The suggestion can be made that the ground for the 2000-2007 rapid economic growth in Ukraine and in the Russian Federation was laid down in early 1990s. This contradicts commonly accepted perception about the crisis decade of 1990s in the former Soviet Bloc.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: economic growth, education, Russia, Ukraine
• Subjects: P - Economic Systems > P2 - Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies > P27 - Performance and Prospects; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General

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