Economic projections in early childhood education: The case of four federal districts of Russia

Abstract

This paper provides a review of Russian and international studies devoted to early childhood education policies, substantiating the need to forecast the demand for preschool education. Data on 2008-2018 preschool education in Central, Ural, Northwestern, and Volga Federal Districts is analyzed, and projections regarding their economic development in this sphere are made for the 2019-2031 period using Sergey Belyakov's model. The following indicators are projected for each region: the population aged 0-7; the number of preschool students; the ratio of potential enrollment to preschool capacity; the student-teacher ratio in early childhood education; and the demand for preschool teachers.