Modeling the Effect of Expenditure on Higher Education on Economic Growth

The relevance of the article is due to the recently increasing inter-determinism of the economy and education and the significance of the study of the effectiveness of investment in human capital as a strategic resource for economic progress and sustainable economic development. The purpose of the article is to analyze and model the impact of spending on higher education on economic growth in the EU and Russia. The methodological basis of the study is testing the author's hypothesis and econometric modeling of the impact of macroeconomic indicators - economic factors that quantitatively characterize the state of the higher education system on the resulting gross domestic product per capita as an indicator of economic growth according to 27 countries of the European Union and the Russian Federation. The research hypothesis about the positive impact of expenditure on higher education on economic growth in the EU and Russia was confirmed. It was found that the growth rates of the founding countries of the EU were different from post-soviet members. The highest response for Russia is observed in terms of expenditures on higher education in GDP and in the volume of high-tech exports, accounting for which will allow building a balanced education and innovation policy in Russia. The prediction of the models obtained on the statistical data of Russia shows the possibility of a significant growth of GDP per capita with an increase in expenditures on higher education with an appropriate congruent development of the institutional environment.