The period since the election in May 2010 has seen a number of very far-reaching reforms enacted in the higher education system in the UK, and especially England. These have been driven in large measure by the economic situation, but also by the aim to introduce a more market-based approach into the sector. At the same time, the higher education…

Despite the tremendous economic progress made by the Chinese economy, averaging a nine percent growth per year, one section of the community remains outside the economic boom. As state-owned enterprises (SOEs) restructure into more efficient organisations able to compete in the global economy, the plight of workers within these enterprises has…

When the global financial crisis hit in 2008, it looked at first as if many European universities were going to escape the worst. Higher education has long been considered a public right and a taxpayer-financed obligation, and there was optimism that universities, which government leaders hail as drivers of economic growth, would emerge relatively…

This article critically assesses the nature and scope of current financial support for part-time undergraduates in England, highlighting its importance for widening participation. It considers the limitations of these financial arrangements, why they are in need of reform, and some of the consequences of their inadequacies. The paper argues that…

The small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector has been widely recognized as an engine of economic growth in South Africa. The implementation of the National Small Business Strategy (NSBS) in 1995 established important objectives for the sector to address such problems as lack of access to markets and procurement, lack of access to finance…

Ethiopia is a large country in the Horn of Africa. It has a diverse population of eighty million people who speak over thirty distinct languages. Approximately 80% of the population live in rural areas and rely on subsistence agriculture. Despite economic growth and an abundance of natural resources, it is a country with a per-capita income of…

This document represents the submission of Universities UK to the 2010 Spending Review. It sets out why the authors believe universities are critical to the UK's future economic growth, what the impact of cuts to the budget for higher education would be, and the activities which universities are currently pursuing to secure national economic…

Sustaining China's rapid economic growth in the future will come to depend in large part on the quantity and quality of the human resources it can mobilize. The paper considers the prospects for higher education financing, and highlights the importance of improving equity in access to higher education as a precondition for a sustainable expansion…

In response to declining governmental funding, cost-sharing in higher education and dual-track tuition policies were introduced in the 1990s in Kenya. The decline of government funding in higher education was a result of slow economic growth, competing public needs (such as health, elementary education, and infrastructure), and pressure to reduce…

Canada weathered the global economic crisis well, mainly reflecting sustained growth in domestic pending, and the economy is continuing to grow despite the persistence of international turbulence, most recently stemming from the euro zone sovereign debt crisis. In Canada's case, several factors are acting in its favour. Federal fiscal plans are…

A good deal of research has focused on part-time employment among full-time students in higher education. However, little attention has been paid to the way in which these patterns may reflect societally specific processes rather than universal trends. This paper examines ways in which the higher education system itself can influence variation in…

The Portuguese came to Macau in the 16th century, Macao has become part of China again since 1999. Under the strong economic growth in recent years, the Macao government has invested substantial human, material and financial resources for the implementation of IT in education in Macau since 2001. This paper reviewed the development of IT in…

Investment in secondary schooling in sub-Saharan Africa has been neglected over the last two decades. Emphasis on universalising primary schooling has shaped national policy and flows of international assistance to favour rapid expansion at the first level of schooling. Though there are many good reasons for this emphasis, this has resulted in…

The Millennium Summit held in New York in September 2000 outlined the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The first of these involves the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, setting two targets: halving by 2015 the percentage of the world's populace in 1990 with income less than US-$1 a day (i.e., cutting this percentage from 27.9 to 14%);…

By reviewing pertinent studies and data, this paper seeks to define the economic benefits of primary schooling within a worldwide context. The author concludes that investment in primary schooling results in more productivity at work and in the home. The returns from primary schooling in most developing countries are higher than from other forms…