The ecosystem of knowledge-based development” and employment of higher education graduates

The employment of higher education graduates (EHEG) in Iran is not desirable. Policymakers and executives of economic programs attribute this to the oversupply and poor quality of university graduates.  On the other hand, policymakers and implementers of higher education programs attribute this to the low demand of the Iranian economy for higher education graduates. Although both arguments are correct; however, it seems that the issue of EHEG in Iran goes beyond that and is related to the level of knowledge-based development in Iran's economy. Knowledge-based development of the economy requires the formation of a knowledge-based development ecosystem. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to theoretically and empirically analyze the effect of "knowledge-based development ecosystem" on” EHEG development". The findings of this research showed that the ecosystems that make up the knowledge-based development ecosystem and the main components of the "knowledge-based development ecosystem" directly and indirectly contribute to the development of "EDA". From the findings of the research, it can be concluded that the development of "EDA" in a developing economy like Iran requires the construction of a knowledge-based development ecosystem in the economy.