University Expansion in a Changing Global Economy: Triumph of the BRICs?

University Expansion in a Changing Global Economy: Triumph of the BRICs?
Authors: Martin Carnoy, Prashant Loyalka, Maria Dobryakova, Rafiq Dossani, Isak Froumin, Katherine Kuhns, Jandhyala B. G. Tilak, Rong Wang
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication Year: 2013

About this Book

University Expansion in a Changing Global Economy: Triumph of the BRICs? provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of higher education systems in the four largest emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The authors investigate how these countries are expanding university access and enhancing educational quality to position their labor forces at the forefront of the global knowledge economy. Using a rigorous empirical and comparative methodology, the book situates national higher education strategies within broader historical, socioeconomic, and political contexts.

The study began at Stanford University in 2007, focusing initially on engineering education in India and China and later expanded to include Brazil and Russia. The book examines multiple dimensions of higher education, including state policies, financing, institutional structures, student demographics, social equity, and economic returns on education. It explores the impact of rapid university expansion on labor markets, social mobility, and national competitiveness in the information society.

Key findings highlight the challenges and trade-offs faced by each BRIC country: China’s stepwise expansion of capital and labor integration, India’s struggle with sluggish growth and exclusionary access, Brazil’s regional disparities, and Russia’s ongoing institutional transformation. The authors emphasize the importance of policy decisions, institutional design, and resource allocation in shaping the future trajectory of higher education in these countries.

This book is essential for scholars, policymakers, and students interested in global higher education, development policy, and the interplay between education and economic growth in emerging economies.

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

1. The State and Higher Educational Change
2. The Great Higher Education Expansion
3. Economic Returns to Investing in Higher Education and Their Impact in the BRIC Countries
4. The Changing Financing of BRIC Higher Education
5. BRIC Universities as Institutions in the Process of Change
6. Who Are the Students, and How Are They Shaped by BRIC Higher Education?
7. The Quality of BRIC Higher Education
8. BRIC Higher Education and Social Equity