The Demand For Higher Education in the Face of Technological Progress and Artificial Intelligence
Fecha: noviembre 2024
José Ignacio Conde-Ruiz, Juan José Ganuza, Manu García, Carlos Victoria
University, technological change, artificial intelligence and demand
Beyond Ivory Tower. Navigating Higher Education in the Future
This article explores the impact that technological change and artificial intelligence may have on the demand for university studies, using Spanish data. It begins with a retrospective analysis of the evolution of demand over the last three decades. Then, based on the academic literature that analyzes the degree of exposure of each occupation to technological change and the employability patterns of different university degrees, three indexes are developed for each degree: RTI index (Routine Task Intensity), index of exposure to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and index of software exposure. These indexes, based on the exposure to technological change of the different university degrees, are very informative in order to explain both the job prospects and the expected salary of their graduates. The indexes can be used to improve the design of university courses and also as indicators of which degrees are likely to be in greater demand in the future. Finally, using microdata from the Community of Madrid enrollment process, where students indicate their preferences, another indicator is designed to rank degrees according to unsatisfied demand.