The Backdrop
Higher education matters—and always will—because knowledge for its own sake is important. But, in sharp contrast with 50 years ago, now higher education matters also for national economic performance and for individual life chances. Technological advance has driven up the demand for skills. To compete internationally, countries need mass high-quality higher education.
That immediately raises the question of how to pay for it. Countries typically pursue three goals in higher education: larger quantity with good access, higher quality, and constant or falling public spending. It is possible to achieve two but only at the expense of the third. Systems can be