高等教育财政的课题——向保证教育质量的财政转变

Challenges for Higher Education Finance in Japan

日本高等教育财政正面临着新的课题,一方面,是高等教育公共支出紧缩导致的财政紧张及大学入学人口的减少;另一方面,全球化中知识社会的出现赋予高等教育艰巨的任务。本文阐述了高等教育的焦点应从量的扩大转向质的提高的论点。美国的高等教育在20世纪80年代后期进行了这样的转变,但包括日本在内的多数OECD国家,没有能够实现这样的跨越。从金融市场开拓资源或许是实现跨越的关键因素。

Higher education finance in Japan is faced with new challenges. On one hand, there has been a steady pressure to contain public expenditures on higher education due to financial stringency and the reduction of college-going population. On the other hand, the emergence of knowledge society under globalization creates a tremendous task for higher education. This paper argues that the focus of higher education should shift from quantitative expansion to qualitative upgrading. Higher education in the U.S. appears to have gone through such a shift in the late 1980s, but many other OECD countries, including Japan, have failed to catch up. Tapping resources from financial market may have to be considered to be a key factor to catch up.