Thi Chinh Vo (p), Donghwan An

Davide Di Marcoberardino

This study investigates the bidirectional relationship between high-skilled human capital and industrial technology capability. Using a simultaneous equation model (SEM), we treat both human capital and industrial technology capability as endogenous variables. The analysis is based on panel data from 35 major countries over the period 2000–2022. Unlike previous studies that typically examine one-directional effects or single-country cases, this paper contributes to the literature by modeling mutual reinforcement between human capital development and technological upgrading at the industrial level. Empirical results from the three-stage least squares (3SLS) estimation confirm a robust two-way relationship: technological progress increases demand for high-skilled human capital, while human capital drives technology capability. We also find that the quality of education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-STEM fields graduates), has a stronger impact than the quantity of general education. Moreover, interaction analyses reveal that urbanization and government education expenditure positively affect high-skilled human capital in countries with lower levels of technological development. Additional findings highlight the roles of gender disparities, fertility, and unemployment in shaping human capital outcomes. These results emphasize the need for coordinated industrial and education policies tailored to each country’s technological stage and structural context.

Davide Di Marcoberardino (p), Marco Cucculelli

Arda Tuncer

Natural hazards and disasters have diverse impacts on populations worldwide in different ways, including significant effects on students and educational systems. While the effects of COVID-19 on students have been extensively explored, less attention has been given to the impacts of disasters, particularly in West-European countries. This study investigates the effects of the 2016 Central Italy earthquake on the learning outcomes of primary school students using standardized test scores at the NUTS-3 level provided by INVALSI. Using a quasi-experimental design, we analyze the data through a dual methodological approach that combines Synthetic Difference-in-Differences (SDID) and event study methodologies. The findings reveal a significant negative impact on the test scores of second-year primary school students, while effects on fifth-year students are not statistically significant. Notably, the negative impact persists for approximately two years, highlighting the enduring educational consequences of disasters.

Melek Gökmeydan Söyler, Zeynep Erdoğan, Arda Tuncer (p), Çiğdem Üstün

José Firmino Sousa Filho

Internationalization of research enables research to be shared among peers in a wider community which provides new ideas, increased scrutiny and subsequently, higher quality. At the same time, its increasing adoption over the decades has brought about questions about for whom scientific knowledge is produced, especially in social sciences. Self-reinforcing mechanisms embedded in academic publishing have been forming a core-periphery structure and leading researchers in developing countries to face a dilemma: Whether to prioritize local or international subjects of interest in their research. As a result, a unique type of ‘publish or perish’ has emerged for these researchers. While globally adopted practices in higher education are forming the basis for publishing internationally, sufficient response to local needs may not emerge either due to adoption of globally popular but unfitting theories and practices developed in the core or complete disinterest towards the local/national level as a subject.

Regional planning is not exempt from these trends. This study seeks to understand the case of regional planning in Turkey with respect to the wider trends taking place in social sciences around the world. Towards this goal, the study makes a comparison between the subjects of regional planning and studies theses in Turkey and those of articles published in leading journals in this field as an indicator of international agenda. This comparison is prepared for three distinct periods, 1980-2001, 2002-2009 and 2010-2022, based on the digital availability of national-level dissertation data from 1980s onwards and breaking points concerning the regional planning in Turkey. Co-occurrence network analysis and trend analysis are used on the abstracts of theses and author keywords of articles to compare the most used keywords. Bibliometric analysis tool based on R, “biblioshiny”, is used for the analysis purposes in this regard.

The results highlight that regional planning research in Turkey has primarily been following the national agenda compared to the international one. While this means the research is responding to local and national needs, it also requires further research into whether expertise over global issues as well as theories and practices is lagging or not in Turkish regional planning academia. National scientific communities need to find a ‘goldilocks zone’ (neither too hot nor too cold) to be both on the forefront of global scientific agenda and responsive to local and national needs.

JOSE FILHO, José Firmino Sousa Filho (p), Gervásio Santos, Marta Rossi

Thi Chinh Vo

Universities contribute to the regional economic dynamics by acting as centers of employment generation, influencing local demand for goods and services, and redistributing income through institutional expenditures. In Brazil, public universities function as structural components of regional economies, contributing to the reduction of spatial inequalities, particularly in areas with lower levels of industrialization. This study examines the economic impact of Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC) in Bahia, focusing on the institution’s demand-side effects and role in the regional and national economy.
The analysis is based on financial data from UESC for 2018, including detailed information on budgetary expenditures, payroll, and institutional purchases. The study employs an inter-regional input-output analysis, integrating UESC’s financial transactions with a 53-region, 68-sector input-output matrix. This approach quantifies the direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts of the university’s activities and identifies how institutional expenditures influence different economic sectors at regional and national levels. Additionally, data from the Household Budget Survey (POF-2018) estimates the distribution of salaries and scholarships across consumption categories, linking university-generated income to sectoral demand.
The results indicate that 72% of UESC’s budget is allocated to public education, with the remainder distributed across administrative services, security, construction, trade, and utilities. Salary expenditure represents a major component of the university’s financial flows, influencing consumption patterns and generating economic spillovers. The employment and production multipliers derived from the input-output model demonstrate that UESC’s impact extends beyond the Ilhéus-Itabuna region, reaching other areas of Bahia and states such as Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. The induced effects of institutional expenditures contribute to regional integration by fostering linkages between different economic sectors and geographic areas.
The study contributes to the literature on higher education and regional development by providing a detailed analysis of a public university’s demand-side economic effects in a developing economy. The methodological framework used in this study offers a replicable model for evaluating economic impacts driven by universities in other contexts. The findings also inform policy discussions on regional inequality, demonstrating how investments in public universities can affect economic dynamics beyond their immediate geographic location. The results highlight the role of universities as economic agents that contribute to sectoral growth, employment generation, and interregional economic integration.