具有连带产品属性的高等教育

Higher Education as an Associative Good

高等教育区别于其他多数产品和服务的一个重要特征是 :它是一种“连带产品”。当学生选择本科学院时 ,首先考虑的不仅是大学的教授、课程和设备 ,而且还同时考虑学校里其他同学的学术能力和社会经济背景。大学里的教授和管理者在选择工作机构时同样考虑他们同事的学术水平和社会背景。这种情形在著名大学表现得尤其突出。高等教育的这一特征对高等教育的分层、竞争、非营利属性、院校规模以及偏好的同质性等现象都有一定的解释力。显然 ,未来的高等教育系统将具有双重性 :在底层 ,竞争相对单一 ;在顶层 。

Higher education is distinguished from most other goods and services in that it is an “associative good.' When choosing among undergraduate colleges, a student is interested not just in faculty, curriculum, and facilities, but also in the academic ability and the social and economic backgrounds of his or her college mates. This is also true for faculty and administrators. It is particularly evident in the upper reaches of higher education. This characteristic can explain many phenomena in higher education, such as stratification, competition, nonprofit nature, institutional size, homogeneity of preference, etc. It appears that we shall have a dual system of higher education, with ever more uniform competition at the lower end and ever more hierarchical stratification at the top.