ECONOMIC MECHANISM OF FINANCING PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES: STRUCTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS AND ECONOMETRIC MODELING OF COSTS

Abstract

This article considers the theoretical and methodological foundations of the formation and modernization of the economic mechanism for providing financial support to non-state higher education institutions from the perspective of a systematic approach. In the context of deep institutional changes in the educational services market in developing countries, the search for optimal models for the financial sustainability of private educational corporations is becoming increasingly important. An in-depth financial and economic analysis of the structure of gross revenues, operating expenses and consolidated net profit was conducted for six major higher education market participants in the Kashkadarya region based on verified empirical data for 2025. Using applied econometric modeling methods, the author identified and estimated the short-term cost function of the private academic sector using the classical ordinary least squares (OLS) method. A highly significant correlation was found between the total operating costs and the scale of gross income of educational institutions R^2 = $0.95, p<0.001, which indicates the absence of clear economies of scale at the current stage of market institutionalization due to strict institutional constraints and market institutionalization. Conceptual frameworks for reforming the economic mechanism at the macro and meso levels are proposed, including public-private partnerships, tax subsidies, and diversification of financial flows