Investment in higher professional education in Russia: Value-based approach

Over the last decade the number of university graduates in Russia has been growing rapidly. However, the relation between tertiarization of national economy and its competitiveness remains unclear; personal motivation and public efficiency of an individual attaining tertiary education act to a certain extent in different directions. The paper addresses different factors affecting the decision of an individual to opt for a particular level of professional education. Net present value and internal rate of return criteria are used to assess the economic attractiveness of investment in attainment of higher professional education. Our findings demonstrate positive private outcomes of attainment of tertiary degrees and are generally in line with the results of OECD analysis. However, cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that in most cases the more advanced type of tertiary degree is attained the lower are financial efficiency indicators both for men and women. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.