As common global problems accumulate, research and higher education become ever more vital. At the same time global convergence is transforming the prospects of higher education institutions. Local and national affairs are no longer the ultimate horizon, creating much scope for cross-border initiative and invention in both knowledge and university strategy. Yet the new freedoms are not experienced equally in all localities. Differences between nations are still determining. As the older barriers are stripped away this enhances the capacity of strong universities and systems to dominate the rest, though new players are emerging. There are many possible trajectories for the university.
The future is open and the 22 authors in Prospects of Higher Education explore it from three perspectives: the world as a whole, the Americas, and particular localities and regions. Moving beyond nation-centered analysis of states and markets, Prospects uses concepts of public and private goods to map the potentials for global trade and university rankings, common knowledge benefits and multilateral policy action, national stratification and the wash-back effects in systems and institutions. Broad and imaginative, methodologically innovative and policy sharp, this book has much for government and university leaders, scholars of higher education and anyone interested in public policy.