An empirical analysis of causal nexus between higher education and economic growth in BRICS countries

Abstract

This study examines the connection between higher education and economic growth in the BRICS countries. This study used the gross enrolment ratio (GER) to gauge the extent of higher education in the BRICS countries, while gross domestic product (GDP) was used to estimate economic growth. The study includes both time series and panel data analysis for all BRICS countries. The vector error correction model (VECM) and the vector autoregressive model (VAR) were applied to time series data to explain the causal relationship between GDP and GER. Panel data were analyzed using the panel vector auto-regression (PVAR) model. The time series analysis revealed that there is both a bi-directional and a unidirectional causal link between economic development and higher education. However, panel data analysis revealed that the causal influence of higher education was more pronounced than economic growth.