More than 5 years have passed since March 2000 when the Lisbon European Council defined its strategic goal for the future decade, namely to“become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater cohesion.”And while this was planned to be achieved through a set of policy instruments, a significant improvement and increased investment into educational systems formed a cornerstone of the “Lisbon strategy”. It is widely acknowledged in theory and empirically proven that investment in human capital promotes economic growth and creates social returns for society as well as private returns to individuals. In order to realise these returns it is necessary, however, to devote significantly more resources to education and training. So how does the European education system compare to others in the world, which path should it take and how can future success be ensured? How can economic theory justify the investment in human capital? What can the European Union learn from the United States when reforming higher education?
Although the paper will not be able to provide definite answers to these questions, it will undertake an attempt towards pointing out the deficiencies of higher education in Europe and what policy instruments could help overcome these.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- The Status Quo of European Higher Education
- The European financing of higher education
- Over-regulation and the role of government
- The lack of social responsiveness
- What is the Lisbon Strategy?
- General Goals of the Lisbon Strategy
- Reforming higher education within the Lisbon framework
- The Bologna Declaration: a step into the right direction
- Economic Background
- Macroeconomics: Social Returns on investment in education
- The production of goods
- The accumulation of human capital
- The impact of human capital on economic growth
- Key findings and model results
- Microeconomics: Private Returns on investment in education
- Human Capital Theory
- Empirical Evidence
- Positive Externalities: Why public and private investment makes sense
- Macroeconomics: Social Returns on investment in education
- What Europe can learn from the US
- Funding
- Organization
- Competition
- Meritocracy
- Policy Implications: A Call for Tuitions in Europe
- Tuition: an absolute necessity
- Meritocracy and Competition
- How to finance tuition for higher education
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper discusses the current state of European higher education and evaluates the Lisbon Strategy's approach to addressing its shortcomings. It analyzes the economic theory behind public versus private funding of education and highlights the strengths and success factors of the US higher education system. The paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate regarding policy implications and advocate for the introduction of tuition as a form of university funding for EU institutions of higher education. Key themes of the paper include: * **The deficiencies of European higher education:** This encompasses funding limitations, overregulation, and a lack of social responsiveness. * **The Lisbon Strategy:** The paper explores the strategic goals and policy instruments within this framework, particularly regarding higher education reform. * **Economic justifications for investment in human capital:** This delves into macro- and microeconomic theories, including social returns, private returns, and positive externalities. * **The US higher education system:** The paper analyzes the funding, organization, competition, and meritocratic elements of the US system as a potential model for European reform. * **Policy implications for European higher education:** This focuses on the rationale for introducing tuition, promoting meritocracy and competition, and exploring potential financing mechanisms.Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter sets the stage by introducing the Lisbon Strategy and its goals for a more competitive and knowledge-based European society. It emphasizes the importance of investment in human capital for economic growth and social returns.
- The Status Quo of European Higher Education: This chapter analyzes the current state of European higher education, highlighting its shortcomings. It specifically focuses on the issues of funding, overregulation, and the lack of social responsiveness.
- What is the Lisbon Strategy?: This chapter provides an overview of the Lisbon Strategy, outlining its general goals and its specific plans for reforming higher education. It also discusses the role of the Bologna Declaration in promoting progress towards these goals.
- Economic Background: This chapter delves into the economic theory behind investment in human capital. It examines both macro- and microeconomic perspectives, exploring concepts such as social returns, private returns, and positive externalities.
- What Europe can learn from the US: This chapter explores the strengths of the US higher education system as a potential model for European reform. It examines the US system's funding, organization, competition, and meritocratic elements.
- Policy Implications: A Call for Tuitions in Europe: This chapter argues for the introduction of tuition as a form of funding for European universities. It highlights the benefits of tuition for promoting meritocracy, competition, and greater financial resources for institutions.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The paper centers around the intersection of European higher education, the Lisbon Strategy, and the economic implications of investing in human capital. Key terms and concepts include: Lisbon Strategy, higher education reform, funding, overregulation, social responsiveness, human capital, economic growth, social returns, private returns, positive externalities, US higher education system, tuition, meritocracy, competition, and policy implications.- Quote paper
- Oliver Dachsel (Author), Christopher Hagedorn (Author), Isabel Goicoechea (Author), Elisabeth Gamecho (Author), 2005, The Lisbon Strategy - The Role of Education, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/56955
