ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF INVESTMENTS IN HUMAN CAPITAL OF UNIVERSITIES IN CENTRAL AND WESTERN CHINA: THE PROSPECT OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

Ta Na, Liu Jianpeng

This article examines the economic efficiency of investments in human capital of universities in Central and Western China in terms of their impact on regional economic growth. Based on panel data for 2010-2022, a quantitative analysis is carried out, including the production function taking into account human capital, the results show that increased investment in higher education leads to an increase in regional GDP. At the same time, significant regional differences were revealed: the elasticity of output in terms of human capital is higher for the central region compared to the western one. The main limiting factors in the western regions are the outflow of qualified personnel and the weak integration of universities with the local economy. Based on the results obtained, recommendations are proposed for optimizing educational policy, including differentiated financing, the development of innovation clusters, and measures to retain graduates in the region.

Keywords:human capital; higher education; economic growth; regional development; China; investment efficiency.