Influence of higher education on the general level of remuneration in the enterprises sector in Poland in the years 2005-2014

Empirical research concerning the relation between level of remuneration and education of labour force has been conducted in different countries for many years. Not only economists and politicians are interested in this vital issue but also the majority of society. The level of wages is important for all employed and unemployed people. The relationship between the level of remuneration and education of labour force has significant influence on making decision process. Studying at a university is not only financial investment but also long-term life investment, because nobody can get back years spending on studying. The purpose of this article is to analyze influence of higher education on the general level of remuneration in the enterprises sector in Poland (macroeconomics interpretation). Most empirical research focuses on microeconomics interpretation of the relation between the level of wages and education of labour force.In the first part of the article the connection between university education and the level of wages, described in the theory of economy and empirical research conducted in different countries, is presented. Linear correlation between quarterly data describing variables (percentage of people with higher education in the community of 15- 64 years old people; average real and nominal remuneration in the enterprises sector in Poland) since 2005 to 2014 was used in order to reach the main goal of the paper. Using quarterly data enabled to obtain proper amount of observations. Some measures were undertaken to eliminate the trend and seasonal influence on the results of research (first subtractions, dynamics of variables) in order to avoid a danger of apparent correlation. Other procedure (variables’ shifts in time) was used to precisely point the direction of correlation between variables. Of course the results of the research were also analyzed using the theory of economics and the results of empirical research conducted in different countries. This methodology, described above, enables to draw reliable conclusions. The research conducted in this paper allowed to obtain unequivocal but surprising results. The clear, statistically reliable, negative influence of a change of a percentage of people with higher education on the dynamics of a change of general level of remuneration (either nominal or real) in the enterprises sector in Poland in the analyzed period was found out. This influence was observed with no delay and also with twoquarter delay. Additionally spatial analysis (in regional scale) in chosen years was conducted to confirm the results of the main research. It enabled to draw a conclusion that despite the fact that employees with higher education earn more than other workers, the dynamics of the growth of their wages was decreasing. It was probably due to the fact that the percentage of people with higher education in Polish society was growing rapidly in analyzed years and a quick increase in work supply of employees with university education lowered the dynamics of a growth of general level of remuneration in the enterprises sector