Abstract:

The relation between education and economic development is largely accepted among politicians, economists and educators. The efforts of most countries that intended to accelerate economic development in the twentieth century has undergone a significant investment in education, and it is argued that investment in education, particularly in higher education, was itself a potential factor of economic development.

Since the 1950s, the "human capital theory" gained consistency and supporters, thanks to several experiences which actually demonstrate that relationship and Economics of Education became one of the major readings of Education. The main positions defended by this approach have their genesis in the macro economic analysis. Education, particularly higher education is considered as an economic branch of activity in which scarce resources with alternative uses are mobilized, being a certain cost associated to it. Thus, it would make sense to analyze the profitability of investment in education, both in individual and family plans, once it points to the existence of a statistically significant relationship between the level of education and income of subsequent professional activity, and on the other hand, the level the community and the country.

It is, therefore, to provide a territory a competitive advantage (Porter, 1993), with the creation of a skilled labor, which may help to locate new business initiatives which themselves generate new sources of wealth, thus developing the level of welfare of the population of this region. That is, investment in education can have a dual role: on one hand, on the supply side, creating the conditions with respect to labor input; on the other hand, on the demand side, to attract and capture a new kind of consumer. In this context, this statement puts the case of Portugal and the impact that investment in higher education had in different regions of the country , especially with the expansion of the network of higher education institutions since the 1980s (university and polytechnic , public and private). This article seeks to identify, over the past decades the regional distribution network and the students and graduates of higher education. For the purposes of analysis the available information (number of HEIs, students , graduates , budget) is aggregated by district, gathering three regions of the country: coastal, inland and Atlantic autonomous regions.

Keywords:

Higher Education, Financing, Regional Development.