Download The Countermeasures of the Development of Higher Education of

The Countermeasures of the Development of Higher Education of
Henan Province by the Comparative Study on the Economic
Environment in the Central Part of China
QIAN Tongzhou
Department of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, 430074; &
School of Law, Henan University of Technology, China, 450001
[email protected]
：
Abstract The close relationship between higher education and the regional economic environment
influences the development of the regional economy as well as the investment in education. The level of
regional economy and the development potentiality are important indexes for references to the
educational distribution. This paper compares and analyzes the economic environment in central part of
China, including Henan, Hubei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan from the prospects of economic scale,
the economic structure, economic efficiency and the degree of economic openness. The comparison
shows that Henan’s higher education still lags behind, in which the per capita GDP of Henan is less than
that of other provinces. The development of the tertiary industry and the degree of economic openness
become the blocks of economic development in Henan. The analysis indicates that the higher education
of Henan needs more investment and should be adjusted and optimized. This article focuses on
structural adjustment and optimization of Henan higher education, fixing the cooperation in three
aspects of adjusting direction, that is, the reasonable arrangement of educational resources,
reoptimization of the higher educational resources, and construction of the market-coordinated
operational mechanism, etc.
Keywords: central part of China, economic environment, higher education, adjustment,
optimization
1. Introduction
The central part of China includes six provinces, which are Henan, Hubei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi and
Hunan. In recent years, under the influences of the national policy of widely opening and expanding
domestic demand, the economy of the central part of China presents a trend of rapid development.
Henan, the province of the largest population in China, faces the pressure that other provinces of the
central part will surpass it as it develops quickly in economy. By analyzing the four index system
corresponding to the total economic amount, economic structure, economic benefits and the degree of
economic opening to the outside we can draw the conclusion that compared with the other provinces in
the central area of China, the per GDP, the development of the third industry, and degree of the
economy opening to the outside of Henan still lag behind.
It becomes an urgent task to study how to integrate the higher education with the development of local
economy of Henan based on the comparison of the economic environment of the six provinces to make
the higher education adapt to the development of local economy, harmonizing economic environment
and attracting more foreign investment as well, which will make Henan play an import roie in economic
development in the central part of China.
2. The Analysis of the Economic Environment of Henan by the Comparative
Study in the Central Part of China
2.1 The higher education and the provincial economic development
Higher Education Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the main task of the provincial
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higher education is to foster talents for the local area. The Ministry of Education also requires that the
development of higher education keep the pace with the level of regional economy.
The correlation between higher education and regional economy in fact is a typical reflection of the
relationship between education and economy. On the one hand, the economic development has decisive
effect on the higher education. We know that the economic system determines the higher education
system, in which economic structure determines higher education structure and the demand and supply
of the market determine the demand and supply of the higher education, etc.; On the other hand, the
higher education, which aims at training specialized talents by means of profound and professional
knowledge and skills, combining education with scientific research, counteracts the regional economic
development greatly. If the higher education adapts to the demand of economic development, it will
nicely promote the development of economy; otherwise, there will be negative effects. Therefore, the
development of the higher education must serve the economic development and the economic
development must depend on every progress in science and technology concerned with higher
education.
Currently, in the labor market of Henan even the whole country, there exist two kinds of phenomena of
excessive education and education shortage. Excessive education leads to excessive consumption of
talents and the reason of education shortage is that the higher education cannot exactly meet the need of
the society. So, the higher education should be guided and controlled in total amount. We must avoid the
phenomenon of expanding the scale aimlessly but neglect its quality and efficiency in higher education.
We must keep the balance between the higher education and economy in structure, in scale and in
quality.
2.2 The analysis of the economic environment of Henan
The economic environment is the most important factor that influences the investment activity and
directly relates to the investing effects, which are the focuses concerned by the investor. Only when the
investors clearly know the economic environment of his investment, can they make the reasonable
investing decisions and get more profits. And only when the investees clearly know the local economic
environment situation, can they make full use of the advantages of investment and continuously improve
and optimize the economic environment for investment to attract more foreign investments.
First, the economic scale is an important factor in the economic investment environment in a region and
influences the investment activities in various aspects. Economic scale and economic development level
relate closely. Generally speaking, the key points of industry in development are various in different
provinces due to their different economic levels, so the investing items are different. In addition, the
economic scale is relevant with the macro economic investment environment so that the province with a
larger economic amount and better economic foundation can enjoy more advantages of drawing on more
foreign investment easily. The indexes selected for economic scale analysis in this part are the regional
total output value and its growth speed and per capita GDP (Table 1).
Table 1 The comparison of economic scale in the whole country and central six provinces in 2005 and 2007
2005
2007
Region
GDP in the region(total output
Per capita
GDP in the region(total output
Per capita
value in the region)
GDP
value in the region)
GDP
The GDP
Absolute
Absolute value
The GDP
Absolute
Absolute value
(100million
year growth
value
(100million
year growth
value
yuans)
rate (%)
(yuan)
yuans)
rate (%)
(yuan
Whole country
182321.00
9.9
13985
246619
11.4
USD 2456
Henan
10535.20
14.1
11236
15058.07
14.4
16060
Jiangni
4056.2
12.8
9439
5469.3
13.0
12562
Anhui
5375.8
11.8
8597
7345.7
13.9
12015
Hunan
6484.5
11.4
11431
9150.01
14.5
16055
380
Hunan
6473.61
11.6
10366
9145
14.4
14405
Shanxi
4179.52
12.6
12320
5696.2
14.2
16835
Data source: The National Statistical Bureau of the People's Republic of China. The 2005 and 2007 Statistics
Bulletin of the National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, the 2005 and 2007
Statistics Bulletin of the National Economic and Social Development of each and the Central Six Provinces of
China.
（
）
From the data in table 1, we can see that the GDP of Henan and its growth rate rank first in the central
area of China in 2005 and in 2007 GDP of Henan is still in the first place but the growth rate is in the
second place in the central part, following Hubei province. GDP and the growth rate in Henan attain
first place in 2005, which is 4.2% higher than the whole country's average growth speed(9.9%); As for
per capita GDP, which is lower than the national average level , is in the third place in the center
department in 2005; per capita GDP in 2007 hits second in the center area, following Shanxi province.
So, it is clear that Henan needs the power to keep the high growth rate continuously. Judging from the
overall economic situation, we can come to the conclusion that Henan is in the transitional stage from
the initial stage to the middle of the industrialization. The per capita GDP shows that Henan is in the
medium on revenue in central area now, which indicates that developing of the present economy is
greatly in need of educational support.
Second, economic structure comparison. The industrial structure of a district is determined by its
economic level. The present condition of the industrial structure and its development trend are the
important indexes for the economic investment environment in a district. The influence of the industrial
structure upon the investor mainly includes two aspects. One of them is the competition in the original
industry that an investor must takes into consideration. The other is cooperation between industries. The
existence and development of business enterprises all need the cooperation of other business enterprises.
If the present condition of a regional industrial structure is good, the lately joined investors would be
able to get good cooperation, whereas it would be a hard nut. Therefore, the investor will reduce the risk
of investment if he could understand the industrial structure condition of a region well. The indexes
selected for the analysis of economy structure are the three industrial structures ratio and the added
value Table 2 .
（
）
Table 2 The comparison of economic scale index in the whole country and central six provinces in2007
The First industry
The Second industry
The Third industry
Region
Added value
Ratio Added value
ratio
Added value
ratio
(100million yuans)
(%)
(100million yuans)
(%)
(100million yuans)
(%)
Whole country
28910
11.7
121381
49.2
96328
39.1
Henan
2365.91
15.7
8280.25
55.0
4411.91
29.3
Jiangxi
910.0
16.6
2827.3
51.7
1732.0
31.7
Anhui
1214.7
16.5
3282.6
44.7
2848.4
38.8
Hubei
1422.80
15.5
4094.19
44.8
3633.02
39.7
Hunan
1611.45
17.6
3901.16
42.7
3632.39
39.7
Shanxi
313.0
5.5
3394.7
59.6
1988.5
34.9
Data source: The National Statistical Bureau of the People's Republic of China. The 2007 Statistics Bulletin
of the National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, the 2007 Statistics Bulletin of
the National Economic and Social Development of each and the Central Six Provinces of China.
（
）
Table2 shows that proportion in structure of three industries in Henan is 15.7:55.0: 29.3, which indicates
that the proportion of the second industry is comparatively large and the third industry seriously falls
behind. Compared with the other provinces in the central China, the proportion of the second industry in
GDP of Henan hits second in the six provinces. It is 4.6 percentage lower than that of Shanxi province,
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3,3percentage higher than that of Jiangxi province and 13, 3 higher than Hunan. But the proportion of
the third industry in GDP of Henan hits the last in the central China in 2007. Therefore, Henan needs to
strengthen the development of the third industry urgently.
Third, economic benefits comparison. The economic benefit is a capital lucrative environment and the
important part of the economic investment system, which reflects the chance of profits that business
enterprises can make. Making profits is the main purpose of the investors. More profits will attract more
investors. Whereas, lower investment repay will influence the investing confidence and leads to less
foreign investment. This paper chooses the added-value of industry of the enterprises with considerable
scale and the profits of the enterprises and industry with considerable scale as the index (Table 3).
Table 3 The comparison of economic benefit index in the whole country and central six provinces in 2006
The Added-value of industry of the
the profits of the enterprises and industry
enterprises with considerable scale
with considerable scale
Region
Absolute value
growth
Absolute value
growth(%)
(100million yuans)
(%)
(100million yuans)
Whole country
79752
16.6
18783.6
31.0
Henan
4150.6
23.4
1145.3
75.0
Jiangxi
1189.3
22.7
198.1
75.0
Anhui
1762.7
20.3
230.9
35.1
Hubei
2303.5
20.0
408.9
24.1
Hunan
2003.2
20.1
264.8
39.4
Shanxi
2086.6
18.3
367.1
41.3
Data source: The National Statistical Bureau of the People's Republic of China. The 2006 and Statistics
Bulletin of the National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, the 2006 Statistics
Bulletin of the National Economic and Social Development of each and the Central Six Provinces of China.
（
）
The data in table 3 shows that the economic benefits of Henan are of obvious advantages. Firstly, the
added-value of industry of the enterprises with considerable scale is in the leading place. Both of the
growth speed of two economic indexes is higher than that of the whole nation and the highest in central
China. Both the added value of industry and profits of the enterprises with considerable scale are the
first in the central China, which indicates that Henan is of the greatest advantages in the central area on
these two aspects. The improvement of Henan economic investment benefits is mainly attributed from
the government’s efforts to develop the second industry and more investment in recent years, which
provides necessary infrastructure and complete industrial system for foreign investor as well.
By analyzing the various indexes of economic environment in central China and by comparing the
various indexes of economic environment among the six provinces, we can see clearly that Henan both
has advantages, such as the rapid developing speed and disadvantages, such as low per capita GDP, low
proportion of the third industry, low degree of economy openness, etc. And the purpose of analyzing
and comparing these data, in this paper, is to draw the conclusion that the higher education must keep
the practical pace of the development of economy in Henan province.
3 Conclusion
3.1 Optimize the Allocation of Resources of Henan Higher Education
The apparent advantages in higher Henan economic benefit analysed above suggest that the higher
efficiency of resource allocation in economic development in Henan province. Developing perfect
higher education markets is the foundation of resources allocation. Consequently, it is necessary for
Henan higher education to optimize the allocation of resources and make higher education really serve
regional economic development, which includes the following aspects: pursuing social and educational
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management benefits, having access to government funds by offering higher education service,
sponsorship from social and industry groups and tuition fees from students; Under the influence of
supply-demand relationship and pay signal in the talent market , students, based on their individual
achievements in University Entrance Test, have access to choosing universities autonomously and pay
tuition fees following the principle of maximizing personal interests; According to the supply-demand
situation in talent markets and the company’s development, employing units have access to selecting
graduates autonomously and deciding these promising employee’s pay in the principle of maximizing
profit and efficiency; At the same time, the pattern of higher education resources allocation requires
higher education institutions necessarily to be legal entities opening to the society.
3.2 Optimize the Educational Structure
The above data shows that the proportion of Henan’s secondary industries is high. The industrialization
is the first choice of Henan regional economic development. Without industrialization, it is impossible
for Henan to realize the rapid development of regional economy and really speed up the urbanization. In
the process, much importance is attached to the development of the heavy chemical engineering
industries. All these require higher education to supply talent, knowledge and technology, adjusting the
geographical distribution and balancing the proportional relations between levels of running a school
and professional setting of higher education. To serve Henan secondary industries better, higher
education should be optimized to build close partnerships between industries and economic agencies, to
form creative and flexible course training system. In 2007, the proportion of the tertiary industry of
Henan in GDP is the last one on the GDP list of central region which requests Henan not only to make
great efforts in the third industry but also to adjust itself to strengthen the talent training.
3.3 Promote the Commercialization of College Research Findings
The analysis of each index in the central regional economic environment shows that economic
environment of Henan still has its advantages in the central six provinces, which includes the quick
economic development, the extension of total amount, the increasing industrialization and the industrial
added value and profits of large-scale enterprises. But according to the data released by Henan
Department of Education, the amount of transition of science and technology achievements of Henan
universities is far below its science and technology output of Henan. In order to fully take economic
environment advantages of Henan in central six provinces, higher education institutions must take
measures actively to promote science and technology transfer into practical productivity and establish
and improve "dynamic self-generating” mechanism, guiding science and technology personnel in
universities to be actively involved in science and technology transition.
Author in brief:
Dr. QIAN Tongzhou(1968-), Male, born in Pingyu, Henan province, Vice-professor of Henan University
of Technology.
Box 219, Henan University of Technology, No.195 Zhongyuan west Road, Zhengzhou, Henan Province,
450007
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the Investment environment [J]. Business Times, 2006(31). (in Chinese)
[3]. Fan Jinjun. The Evaluation on Higher Education Investment [J]. China Higher Education Research,
2005(9). (in Chinese)
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