Trends in demand and supply in higher education

The article presents an analysis of the demand and supply in higher education in various fi elds in the context of public policy. By studying the demand from families for various higher education programs, three areas of public policy are identifi ed that directly affect the supply and demand in higher education. The fi rst area is the increase in the number of university students, which has been implemented since the beginning of the pandemic and is motivated by the desire to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn on families. The second area is the support for regional universities, including the redistribution of budgetary places in their favor. This area of public policy aims to reduce the funding disparities in the higher education system that have emerged over the past few decades. The third area of state policy is the priority given to engineering fi elds, including information technology, over other fi elds in order to intensify the country's technological development. These directions are based on the analysis of offi cial statements by government offi cials and statistical data. The study is based on data from the HSE Research Institute's Monitoring the Quality of Admission study for 2018-2024. The article proves that there is a persistent imbalance in the demand and supply in higher education, and the demand is developing unevenly both across Russia's regions and across fi elds of study. Promising creative competencies are mainly acquired through paid education. Thus, competencies for developing the qualitative characteristics of human capital are formed in the segment of market goods, and the training of specialists at the expense of budget funds for the sectors of the innovative economy is limited and concentrated mainly in the sector of traditional creative specialties. The core of creative industries is made up of creative people, whose shortage is becoming the main obstacle to the development of the innovative economy.