Exploring the Role of Tax Revenue in Funding Higher Education to Meet Industry Needs and Foster Sustainable Development: A Review of Existing Literature

Abstract

This study explored the role of tax revenue in funding higher education to meet industry needs and foster sustainable development, using existing literature. Tax revenue is important for economic growth and development. Governments use tax revenue to fund needs, including infrastructural development, education, health and social amenities. The alignment of public and tax revenue with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contribute to high-quality education that meet industry needs. In the last few decades, a wide range of works have featured studies documenting the alignment of public finance to high education that meet industry needs and contributing to development. The present study employed a secondary method to systematically review relevant literature to answer the key research question of what role tax revenues play in funding higher education with focus on alignment with industry needs to promote sustainable development. Research papers, journals and articles covering the time period 2017 to 2024 were included in the review as obtained from databases mostly Google Scholar. The publications were reviewed based on a thorough screening of abstracts and introductions. A total of 35 relevant scholarly publications were reviewed and analysed to obtain themes used to present findings and conclusions drawn by the study. A thematic literature review was employed to organise and synthesising existing literature around common themes. The reviews of the existing literature did not only answer the research question, but also added to the exiting knowledge on the role of tax revenue in funding higher education to cater for industry requirements and encourage sustainable development. Following the discussed methods of the study, a conceptual framework that defines the relationships between the concepts of public funding, high education, industry needs and sustainable development was devised