Over the past decade there has been a considerable and growing interest in globalisation as a phenomenon. Education at all levels has been deeply implicated in the processes of globalization, partly as a product that can be made more efficient in the name of competitive advantage and partly as a beneficiary of investment in a hazily defined…

International trade in higher education services is one of the fastest growing tradable service sectors globally. Apart from the positive externalities international students create through knowledge mobility and spill-over, campus diversity, and local community development participation, spending by international students in the host city and…

The geography of trade in services is becoming increasingly important for a developing country such as Malaysia. But, present discussion on trade in education services, in particular, higher education and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in Malaysia is rather limited and takes a short-term perspective. This is especially so with…

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization has generated an intense and passionate debate about the relationship between free-trade and education and, specifically, about the effects of trade liberalization in national education systems. This article explores in detail this debate from a critical discourse…

International trade in educational services has grown substantially over the past decades. Now it is a billion dollar industry including recruitment of international students, establishment of university campuses abroad, franchised provision and on line education. WTO [World Trade Organization] requires each member nation to make its own schedule…

As the United States and other member countries of the World Trade Organization continue negotiations on a new global-trade agreement in Geneva, about two dozen groups representing American colleges are beseeching U.S. officials to avoid making concessions that would threaten the autonomy of higher-education institutions. During the latest round…

Higher education is the education level under the most pressure to be internationally liberalized. Currently, the main global instrument to achieve this liberalization goal is the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization. In this paper, the process of trade liberalization of higher education in the GATS…

Describes Australia's role in promoting educational trade liberalization through the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services. The Australian government is pursuing a diversified approach to educational trade promotion, which includes building confidence in international quality assurance mechanisms and demonstrating…

In this article, we examine the process of trade liberalisation of educational services in the framework of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Specifically, we analyse the factors that influence the undertaking of commitments on educational liberalisation by the member countries of the WTO. The…

This paper presents an overview of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) trade agreement, Canada's current negotiating position, and implications for higher education in Canada related to the GATS. The first section highlights the key contributions that Canada's higher education system currently makes to national economic, social, and…

Discusses whether universities need the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization, and concludes that they do not at present. Many questions remain to be answered before GATS should be applied to trade in education services. (SLD)

Analyzes the challenges and opportunities that international trade in educational services represents for higher education systems in industrialized and developing countries and shows the importance of international quality assurance in education. Makes the case that the lifelong learning sector is most likely to be affected by developments…

Addresses some of the public policy controversies surrounding the treatment of education services under the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Describes the core features of GATS, highlighting how the four modes of supplying services relate to trade in education services and discusses the limited role GATS…

This paper looks at the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) as an important part of the international trade law system and explores if and how it affects the steering capacity of a nation state regarding higher education. It offers a new conceptual framework to look on the impact of GATS on higher education within its increasingly…

Addresses the growing demand for access to higher education and the conditions under which this is leading to a worldwide market through transnational education and the export of educational services. Discusses extension of the General Agreement on Trade in Services to higher education, and the adequacy of Europe's Bologna Process as a response to…