Contribution of Higher Education to Economic Increase in Xinjiang

Based on the Cobb-Douglas production function, we calculate the contribution rate of higher education in Xinjiang to economic growth from 1999 to 2009 and compare with that of Shaanxi province. We find that higher education in Xinjiang contributes low to the economic growth, the main reason of which lies in the low level of human capital in Xinjiang as well as the unreasonable structure of higher education, and the development of higher education does not match the actual demand of economic development. Therefore, we should increase investment in higher education, optimize its structure and improve the interaction mechanism of higher education and regional economic development to promote the development of higher education in Xinjiang.