Impact of Higher Education Institutions on Regional Economies: A Joint Research Initiative

 


Content

Overall Impact of higher education institutions on regional economies

July 2007 – August 2010

Link to this project's ESRC Award Page

Project Team

  • Principal Investigator: Professor Peter McGregor University of Strathclyde
  • Co-Investigator: Professor Kim Swales University of Strathclyde
  • Co-Investigator: Professor Robert Wright University of Strathclyde
  • Co-Investigator: Professor Richard Harris University of Glasgow
  • Co-Investigator: Dr Alessandra Faggian University of Southampton
  • Co-Investigator: Professor Stephen Hill University of Glamorgan
  • Co-Investigator: Ms Ursula Kelly University of Strathclyde
  • Researchers: Nikos Pappas and Q Cher Li , Katerina Lisenkova,  Irena Mosca, John Moffat (University of Strathclyde)

Associate Advisers

  • Professor Phil McCann, University of Groningen
  • Professor John Madden
  • Emeritus Professor Iain McNicoll

The Overall Impact of HEIs on Regional Economies

This project focuses on the overall impact of HEIs on regional economies, tackling three major gaps in the existing literature.

  • First, the neglect of supply side effects in existing “impact studies” is addressed through the development of a range of economic models that capture both supply side and demand side impacts. This initially focuses on Scotland and Wales, but is later extended to Northern Ireland and London and the South East.
  • Secondly, the neglect of HEI impacts on non-host regions and on the UK economy as a whole is addressed, in part through simulation of a range of models designed to assess the impact of interregional trade and graduate migration flows.
  • Thirdly, the project seeks to develop a comprehensive approach to the measurement of wider higher education impacts, including social, environmental and cultural impacts, through the application of cost-benefit analysis techniques.

The project draws throughout on new micro-econometric research that aids the specification and measurement of the supply side impacts of HEIs and exploits the inter-disciplinary strengths of the overall ESRC Impact of HEIs on regional economies initiative, using other projects to inform the wider impact analysis, as appropriate.

 

Project Outputs