Linkages and leakages of higher education sector in Malaysia

Abstract

This study examines the direct and indirect linkages and leakages of private and public higher education in Malaysia using input-output analysis. This study found that real estate, printing, wholesale and retail business as well as utilities are the sectors most closely inter-connected with higher education. The results of forward and backward linkages also show weak inter-industry links of the higher education sector with the rest of the economy. The public higher education use a larger amount of imported inputs compared to private higher education implicating a higher leakage from public higher education sector. Higher education in Malaysia can therefore said to take on a social role rather than an economic one. The structural change of education sector indicates an increase in the contribution of primary inputs and a dramatic decline in the consumption of intermediate inputs in education sector over time.