Higher Education as Regional Development: Labor Market Impacts of Nigeria’s 2011 Federal University Expansion

Godwin Aipoh and Olanrewaju Yusuff

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper examines the causal impact of higher education expansion on regional labor markets and human capital development. Exploiting the 2011 establishment of nine federal universities across previously underserved Nigerian states, we implement a difference-in-differences approach to analyze effects on employment, wages, job quality, and sectoral composition. Our results show significant positive effects on employment and wages, with particularly strong impacts for youth and in urban areas. We find evidence of both direct employment effects and broader spillovers to private sector activity such as self-employment, suggesting universities can serve as catalysts for regional economic development. Our findings contribute to understanding the role of higher education institutions in human capital formation and labor market development in emerging economies

Keywords: Higher Education; Labor Markets; Economic Development; Regional Growth; Universities; Employment; Wages; Nigeria; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H5 H52 I25 J21 O15 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-lma and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:126532

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