Hired Education: Tertiary Education and Unemployment under Resource Dependence

What determines public investment in tertiary education in resource-dependent countries? I develop a political economy theory of the provision of tertiary education in resource-dependent developing countries. To explain variation in the provision of tertiary education in these countries, I employ a mixed methods approach that exploits variation both across countries and within countries over time. I contend that the provision of tertiary education in resource-dependent developing countries is a response to concerns about unemployment and can be explained by differences in regime type and exchange rate arrangement. I argue that conditional on these two dimensions rulers pursue one of four possible strategies for investment in tertiary education: private participation, patronage politics, training tomorrow, and elite education. These strategies vary in level of spending, scope, and connection to public sector employment. I explore the use of these strategies in three case studies: Venezuela, Ecuador, and Qatar. This theory departs from existing explanations by acknowledging that resource-dependent countries deserve a separate explanation because public spending in this context is not redistributive. It expands our understanding of resource-dependent countries and autocratic resource-dependent countries specifically by providing an in-depth analysis of one component of social spending