Abstract
This chapter looks to discuss what different capitalisms (i.e., neoliberal capitalism as in the USA, state-regulated capitalism as in some European countries, state-led capitalism as in China) mean for higher education markets and the race to achieve world-class university status. After a general introduction to different forms of capitalism and their implications for higher education, we focus specifically on German higher education, which is transitioning from a regulated social welfare economy to a more neoliberal one, and look at the consequences of this for Germany’s efforts to build markets by capturing international student mobility. The chapter is based on case studies of three universities and examines the learning required by faculty and staff as well as the concomitant expansion of institutional work to move from the traditional posture of the Humboldtian university to more market facing postures.
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- 1.
The theorists we draw on for the Anglo-American case emphasize the political as much or more than the economic, while theorists from the EU emphasize the economic. In the spirit of careful comparitivism, we have used the theorists characteristic of the nations we are addressing.
- 2.
As noted above, we are focusing only on competition for international students, postdocs, and faculty, so are not analyzing the other goals.
- 3.
The federal government made changes to its immigration laws in 2005 and 2007. The changes introduced a green card program targeting information technology specialists from non-EU countries; enabled highly skilled international workers to immediately obtain permanent residency upon finding a job; and granted international students the opportunity to work during their studies and a 1-year residence permit after graduation to find work. Through these changes the federal government is committed to opening Germany to highly skilled students and their potential as qualified workers. These actions, according to the German Interior Minister, “give us the opportunity to take part in the race for the world’s best brains” (cited in Tremblay 2005, p. 10).
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Olson, J., Slaughter, S. (2014). Forms of Capitalism and Creating World-Class Universities. In: Maldonado-Maldonado, A., Bassett, R. (eds) The Forefront of International Higher Education. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 42. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7085-0_20
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