Higher education impact on human development : A case study from Pakistan

Abstract

Higher education is considered as an essential part of the human development process of the country. In this context, the objective of this study is to explore the returns of higher education on human development indicators and as well as examine the impact of human development on higher education in Pakistan from the period of the 1984 to 2014. For estimation, correlation analysis and regression analysis has been used to investigate the association between Variables. The main purpose of the study is to identify the link between higher education and the three most important human development indicators, such as GDP, employment and life expectancy. To this end, the impact of the enrollment in higher education on human development has been analyzed. This research concluded that there exists a positive connection between human development and higher education. The higher level of GDP, life expectancy and employment accelerate the literacy rate and enrollment in higher education. In this study, we try to analyze the trends in education, strategies and challenges of higher education and its role in overall development in the country. In addition, the study is also of the opinion that a well-trained workforce substantially resembles economic growth. This research also has a number of consequences suggestion for the policy makers to developing higher education in order to counter the use of educated manpower in different sectors of the economy. Keywords: Pakistan; Higher Education; Economic Growth (GDP); Employment; Life expectancy; Time Series Analysis