The external benefits of higher education

Hermannsson, Kristinn and Lisenkova, Katerina and Lecca, Patrizio and McGregor, Peter G and Swales, J Kim (2017) The external benefits of higher education. Regional Studies, 51 (7). pp. 1077-1088. ISSN 0034-3404 (https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2016.1172062)

[thumbnail of Hermannsson-etal-RS2016-the-external-benefits-of-higher-education]
Preview
Text. Filename: Hermannsson_etal_RS2016_the_external_benefits_of_higher_education.pdf
Final Published Version
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo

Download (1MB)| Preview

Abstract

The private market benefits of education are widely studied at the micro level, although the magnitude of their macroeconomic impact is disputed. However, there are additional benefits of education, which are less well understood. In this paper the macroeconomic effects of external benefits of higher education are estimated using the "micro-to-macro" simulation approach. Two types of externalities are explored: technology spillovers and productivity spillovers in the labour market. These links are illustrated and the results suggest they could be very large. However, this is qualified by the dearth of microeconomic evidence, for which we hope to encourage further work.