The Local Impact of University Decentralization in France

Paul Charruau (1, 2)

1 Université Paris Dauphine-PSL
2 LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine

We measure the effects on human-capital accumulation at the local level of the "new universities" created as part of the U2000 Plan implemented in France in the early 1990s. Established in 1990, this national program resulted in the creation of eight universities (spread over 15 sites), including four outside the Paris region (over 10 sites). Using the synthetic control method, we show that the opening of "new universities" has led to a significant increase in the local share of higher-educated people (not including those in school). On average, the creation of "new universities" increased this share by 4 p.p. within 27 years, though the effect differs across cases. Our estimates provide reliable results in six of the treated-zones, with positive effects between 2 and 7 p.p. within 27 years (which represents around 8,000 more higher-educated individuals on average, in comparison with the counterfactual). Moreover, exploring the employment implications of "new universities" creation, we found credible evidence that, on average, human-capital gains co-occurred with gains in skilled employment.

Mots clés: Human capital HC; Higher education in France; Regional Development; Public policy evaluation

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Économie et finance quantitative [q-fin]

Paul Charruau. The Local Impact of University Decentralization in France. 2022. ⟨hal-03048861v2⟩