Yurii Vitrenko
MEASURING THE RESULTS OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY OF STATE AND MUNICIPAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS OF UKRAINE AS ENTITIES OF MODERN MARKET ECONOMY
Abstract. The modern practice of measuring the economic activity results of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ukraine is based on the theoretical foundations of the Soviet planned economy, according to which HEIs belong to the so-called «non-productive sphere», do not participate in the production of the social product and national income. Thus they are financed only by state or local budgets. At the same time, in the modern market economy, HEIs are full-fledged entities engaged in several types of economic activity. The results of economic activity (goods and services) have corresponding volumes both in terms of quantity and cost and are included in GDP. According to the purpose, the article presents the author’s vision of creating a system for measuring the economic activity results of the Ukrainian HEIs as the entities of the modern market economy. It is concluded that the methodology of national education accounts does not allow formulating economic information for measuring the main final result of the economic activity of HEIs – specific services in the field of higher education for the entire normative duration of study in the context of corresponding degrees of higher education (Bachelor, Master, Doctor of Philosophy / Doctor of Arts) and for each specialization. The author substantiates the necessity for the development and implementation of the following: the state sectoral standard classifier of services in the sphere of higher education; the state sectoral standard classifier of services for scientific research and experimental development; balanced system of indicators for the economic activity results of state and municipal higher education institutions in Ukraine. The author formulates the definitions: «service in the field of higher education as a result of economic activity» and «service for scientific research and experimental development as a result of economic activity» on the conceptual basis of the System of National Accounts 2008 (SNA 2008), the provisions of the relevant international and national economic and social classifiers. Methodological approaches to the development of a balanced system of indicators for the economic activity results of HEIs and examples of titles of quantitative, cost, calculation and qualitative indicators are suggested.
Keywords: education economics, higher education, higher education institutions (HEIs), economic activity of higher education institutions.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32987/2617-8532-2019-1-31-46.
JEL classification: I21, I23, I29, H52.