Determinants of Aggregate Demand for and Supply of Higher Education in India

Abstract

The present paper specifies system of demand and supply equations for enrolment in higher education. GER and log enrollment are dependent variables, covering from 1980-81 to 2018-19 and estimated with OLS and 2SLS. GER models perform better than log of enrolment models in both the cases. GER models indicate positive relationship with income per capita while negative relationship with poverty and literate population with both OLS and 2SLS. Regarding the supply equations, none of the included variables are found to be statistically significant though exhibit expected relationship. Reported negative ratio of boys to girls indicate gender disparity, raising concerns. The paper concludes with policy implications and suggested areas for future research.