ADAPTING HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT TO REGIONAL LABOR-MARKET CONDITIONS IN UZBEKISTAN: EVIDENCE FROM A TWO WAY FIXED-EFFECTS PANEL, 2011–2025
Keywords:
higher education management; regional labor market; non-state employment intensity; employment rate; panel data; fixed effectsAbstract
This study examines whether regional labor-market conditions in Uzbekistan can provide useful context for higher education management. Three official datasets were merged into a balanced panel of 14 regions for 2011–2025, yielding 210 region-year observations. The regional employment rate is modeled against lagged nonstate employment intensity, defined as non-state employment relative to the economically active population, and annual growth in the economically active population. A two-way fixed-effects model controls for persistent regional differences and common annual shocks; standard errors are clustered by region with a finite-sample correction. The coefficients on lagged non-state employment intensity (β = 0.652, SE = 0.341, p = 0.078) and labor-force growth (β = 0.179, SE = 0.084, p = 0.054) are positive but do not reach the 5% significance level. The focal regressors are jointly significant only at 10% (F(2,13) = 2.991, p = 0.085). Diagnostics reveal heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and functional-form limitations, so the estimates are interpreted as conditional associations rather than causal effects. Regional labor-market indicators can inform curriculum review, employer consultation, and graduate tracking, but they cannot substitute for program-level evidence.
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