Multivariate Analysis of EU Convergence in Higher Education Services

The paper analyses the evolution of convergence in higher education during 2002–2013, based on previously used macroeconomic and transition indicators: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, Research and Development (R&D) investment level, government expenditure on education (% of GDP), share of exports of high-tech in total manufactured exports, costs of exploiting intellectual property. We resort to cluster analysis to identify and characterize main groups of higher education systems in Europe. Using forecasting techniques for the 2014–2020 period, we foresee the dynamics of the previously outlined clusters, and the perspectives of convergence in the near future. We analyse the factors facilitating or inhibiting convergence, and the necessary exchanges between groups of countries which are mostly prone to harmonization. The paper integrates previous studies of the authors regarding European level convergence, bringing together best practices and strategies to achieve convergence not only regionally, but also within the European higher education sector.