Universities, Societies and the Invisible Hand

Abstract

Higher education is facing a huge wave of changes. The wave appears to come in four layers. The first is the massification or “democratization” of higher education, which is observed most drastically in developing countries. The second is the rise of knowledge economy, which leads economic growth in most developed countries. The third is globalization, with diminishing barriers of physical distance and national borders. The last is the competition happening on a global scale. With markets ranging from research funds, students and job markets, universities compete both in quality and in quantity. Japanese universities seem to be at risk of ragging from such global competition, not only in the research market but also in professional job and study-abroad markets.