Structural Transformation of Higher Education in Kazakhstan: Educational, Economic and Social Dimensions
https://doi.org/10.47703/2789-8253-2026-1-73-87
Abstract
The development of the higher education system is considered one of the key factors in the formation of human capital, the increase in innovation activity, and long-term economic growth. The purpose of the article is to analyse the structural transformation of of Kazakhstan’s higher education system by identifying interrelations among educational, economic, and social indicators for 2004-2024. The methodological basis of the study consists of correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax orthogonal rotation, which enables the identification of hidden structural factors and the assessment of the consistency of indicator dynamics. The empirical basis of the study was made up of annual statistical data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2004-2024, including such indicators as the number of students and teachers, the number of universities, the unemployment rate, household incomes, spending on science, innovation activity, the Gini index, the share of education spending in GDP and average wages. The results reveal strong structural relationships between economic development and science financing (r = 0.986) and between income and wages (r = 0.985). Principal component analysis shows that the first component explains 73.6% of the variance. In comparison, the first two components explain 88.9% of the variance, indicating a structural transformation of higher education associated with the development of the knowledge economy. Future research may extend the analysis by incorporating regional data, panel econometric models, and additional institutional indicators to assess causal relationships between higher education development, labour market outcomes, and innovation dynamics.
Keywords
Education,
Higher Education,
Education Policy,
Human Capital,
Knowledge Economy,
Research Funding,
Science Expenditure
Supporting agencies: This research has been funded by the Science Committee MSHE RK (grant “Modernization of the quality assurance system of higher education in Kazakhstan based on digitalization: development of approaches, mechanisms and information base” BR24992974)
About the Author
Anel A. Kireyeva
University of International Business named after K. Sagadiyev
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Cand. Sc. (Econ.), Professor
Almaty
References
1. Arynova, Z., Kaidarova, S., Bekniyazova, D., Zolotareva, S., & Shelomentseva, V. (2025). Labor market– education system discrepancies in Kazakhstan’s digital ERA: Challenges and modeling solutions. International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, 8(6), 1513–1523. https://doi.org/10.53894/ijirss.v8i6.9954
2. Bonaccorsi, A., Barin, L., Belingheri, P., Biagi, F., & Sánchez-Barrioluengo, M. (2023). Is higher education more important for firms than research? Disentangling university spillovers. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 40, 900–925. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-023-10008-y
3. Borgonovi, F., & Marconi, G. (2020). Inequality in Higher Education: Why Did Expanding Access Not Reduce Skill Inequality? Open Education Studies, 2(1), 312–343. https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2020-0110
4. Bureau of National Statistics. (2025). Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Retrieved January 30, 2026 from https://stat.gov.kz/en
5. Busurmanov, Z., Kussainova, A., Nazarkulova, L., & Kanatov, A. K. (2019). Judicial Education Development Issues and Prospects in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Light of the OECD Countries’ Experience. The Journal of Social Sciences Research, 5(3), 830–837. https://doi.org/10.32861/JSSR.53.819.825
6. Caniëls, M. C., & Bosch, H. V. (2011). The role of Higher Education Institutions in building regional innovation systems. Papers in Regional Science, 90(2), 271–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1435-5957.2010.00344.X
7. Carpentier, V. (2021). Three stories of institutional differentiation: resource, mission and social inequalities in higher education. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 5(2), 197–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2021.1896376
8. Chen, L., Guo, J., Li, W., & Wang, G. (2025). The dynamic impact of higher education on youth employment opportunities and quality: an empirical analysis based on age-period-cohort models. Frontiers in Sociology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1680077
9. Delgado, M., Henderson, D. J., & Parmeter, C. F. (2014). Does Education Matter for Economic Growth? Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 76(3), 334–359. https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.12025
10. Fu-yu, W. (2014). Study on the Current Situation of the Work Ability of Oil Workers in One Oil Company. Henan Journal of Preventive Medicine.
11. Hashimoto, M. (1995). Investment in Employment Relations in Japanese Firms. Journal of The Japanese and International Economies, 9, 75–95. https://doi.org/10.1006/JJIE.1995.1004
12. Hoareau, C., Ritzen, J. M., & Marconi, G. (2013). Higher education and economic innovation, a comparison of European countries. IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 2, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-9012-2-24
13. Janssen, C., Maillard, A., Bodelet, C., Claudel, A., Gaillat, J., Delory, T., & Group, O. B. (2021). Hesitancy towards COVID-19 Vaccination among Healthcare Workers: A Multi-Centric Survey in France. Vaccines, 9(6), 547. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9060547
14. Karabayev, S., Nurgaliyeva, K., Kredina, A. A., Bekturganova, M., & Aimagambetov, Y. (2023). Relationship between determinants of higher education and economic development: The case of Kazakhstan. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 21(1), 336–351. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.21(1).2023.29
15. Kusakabe, T. (2013). Impact of Education Expansion on Employment in Bangladesh: Comparing Two Cases of Villages in Remote and Suburban Rural Settings. Journal of International Cooperation in Education, 15, 53–68. https://doi.org/10.15027/34854
16. Laird, J. (2017). Public Sector Employment Inequality in the United States and the Great Recession. Demography, 54(1), 391–411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-016-0532-4
17. Makinde, K. M., Ayegbokiki, A. O., & Sotunde, O. A. (2013). Accounting for employment generation and expansion: A tool for insecurity in Nigeria. African Journal of Business Management, 7, 3063–3068. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM2013.7122
18. Márquez-Ramos, L., & Mourelle, E. (2019). Education and economic growth: an empirical analysis of nonlinearities. Applied Economic Analysis, 27(79), 21–45. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEA-06-2019-0005
19. Mok, K. H., & Jiang, J. (2017). Massification of higher education and challenges for graduate employment and social mobility: East Asian experiences and sociological reflections. International Journal of Educational Development, 63, 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.02.003
20. Rohrbacker, J. M., & Weber, K. (2014). Race-Ethnicity and Gender in Higher Education. In: Handbook of Race-Ethnicity and Gender in Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8860-6_9
21. Scott, P. (2019). Martin Trow’s elite-mass-universal triptych: Conceptualising Higher Education development. Higher Education Quarterly, 73(4), 496–506. https://doi.org/10.1111/HEQU.12224
22. Smolentseva, A., Huisman, J., & Froumin, I. (2018). Transformation of Higher Education Institutional Landscape in Post-Soviet Countries: From Soviet Model to Where? In: 25 Years of Transformations of Higher Education Systems in Post-Soviet Countries. Palgrave Studies in Global Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52980-6_1
23. Teodorovicz, T., Lazzarini, S. G., Cabral, S., & McGahan, A. M. (2023). Investing in general human capital as a relational strategy: Evidence on flexible arrangements with contract workers. Strategic Management Journal, 45(5), 902–938. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3571
24. Trow, M. (2007). Reflections on the Transition from Elite to Mass to Universal Access: Forms and Phases of Higher Education in Modern Societies since WWII. In: International Handbook of Higher Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 18. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4012-2_13
25. Verhofstadt, E., Witte, H. D., & Omey, E. (2007). Higher educated workers: better jobs but less satisfied? International Journal of Manpower, 28(2), 135–151. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437720710747965
26. Wu, N., & Liu, Z. (2021). Higher education development, technological innovation and industrial structure upgrade. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, 120400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120400
27. Yang, L. (2018). Higher education expansion and post-college unemployment: Understanding the roles of fields of study in China. International Journal of Educational Development, 62, 62–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJEDUDEV.2018.02.009
28. Zeinolla, S., Tleppayev, A., Kerimbayev, R., & Spankulova, L. (2025). The Role of Education in Reducing Income Inequality: A Regional Analysis of Kazakhstan. Eurasian Journal of Economic and Business Studies, 69(2), 34–50. https://doi.org/10.47703/ejebs.v69i2.505
Review
For citations:
Kireyeva A.A. Structural Transformation of Higher Education in Kazakhstan: Educational, Economic and Social Dimensions. Eurasian Journal of Economic and Business Studies. 2026;70(1):73-87. https://doi.org/10.47703/2789-8253-2026-1-73-87
Views:
199
JATS XML
Email this article 