The evolution of regional differences in French university supply between 1980 and 2000: Specialisation or diversification?

Abstract : The aim of this article is to examine the distribution of university training supply in France. Has there been regional university specialisation or, on the contrary, has there been a diversification of regions? After studying the evolution of regional differences for each university discipline between 1980 and 2000, we attempt to identify the specific features of each region in the supply of training. The results obtained show that there is a certain attenuation of regional differences, mainly for economically profitable disciplines. On the other hand, if we do not really identify regional specialisations, we highlight a type of specialisation that could be called “historical specialisation”.

Keywords : higher education, convergence, regional disparities.

Jel Classification : C12, I21, N14, O15, O18, R13.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18559/RIELF.2020.2.4