Time Series Analysis & Choices for General and Vocational Education in Arab Economies

Abstract: The current research focuses on the analysis of the determinants of educational choices in Arab countries using time series. This is to reveal the likely model of choice between general and vocational training in these economies. The selected theoretical framework considers that educational choices are globally influenced by education and macroeconomic variables. These include unemployment, GDP growth, and GDP per capita. The empirical analysis is based on regression, time series analysis and causality tests as inspired by the above theoretical framework. The findings show different outcomes for each of the Arab countries as such revealed decisions depend globally on the macroeconomics and performance of education in each country. These economies show that vocational education accounts differently for the macroeconomic variables while few accounts but also differently, for the schooling performance. Even with these differences that are related to signs of the effects, the monitoring of vocational education versus general training in Arab countries needs to be pursued as this allows for a more balanced educational and employment systems.