Is everything in a university for sale if the price is right? In this book, one of America's leading educators cautions that the answer is all too often "yes." Taking the first comprehensive look at the growing commercialization of our academic institutions, Derek Bok probes the efforts on campus to profit financially not only from athletics but increasingly, from education and research as well. He shows how such ventures are undermining core academic values and what universities can do to limit the damage. Commercialization has many causes, but it could never have grown to its present state had it not been for the recent, rapid growth of money-making opportunities in a more technologically complex, knowledge-based economy. A brave new world has now emerged in which university presidents, enterprising professors, and even administrative staff can all find seductive opportunities to turn specialized knowledge into profit. Bok argues that universities, faced with these temptations, are jeopardizing their fundamental mission in their eagerness to make money by agreeing to more and more compromises with basic academic values. He discusses the dangers posed by increased secrecy in corporate-funded research, for-profit Internet companies funded by venture capitalists, industry-subsidized educational programs for physicians, conflicts of interest in research on human subjects, and other questionable activities. While entrepreneurial universities may occasionally succeed in the short term, reasons Bok, only those institutions that vigorously uphold academic values, even at the cost of a few lucrative ventures, will win public trust and retain the respect of faculty and students. Candid, evenhanded, and eminently readable, Universities in the Marketplace will be widely debated by all those concerned with the future of higher education in America and beyond.

This collection of essays examines the operation of the market for learned books in Early Modern Europe through a series of case studies. After an overview of general market conditions, issues raised by the transmission of knowledge and the economics of the book trade are addressed. These include the selection of copy, the role of legal and religious controls in the production and diffusion of texts, the paths open to authors to achieve publication, the finances and interaction of publishing houses, the margins of the European book trade in England and Portugal, and the development of bibliographical tools to assist purchasers in their pursuit of scholarly works.

Scholars in the Marketplace is a case study of market-based reforms at Uganda's Makerere University. With the World Bank heralding neoliberal reform at Makerere as the model for the transformation of higher education in Africa, it has implications for the whole continent. At the global level, the Makerere case exemplifies the fate of public universities in a market-oriented and capital friendly era. The Makerere reform began in the 1990s and was based on the premise that higher education is more of a private than a public good. Instead of pitting the public against the private, and the state against the market, this book shifts the terms of the debate toward a third alternative than explores different relations between the two. The book distinguishes between privatisation and commercialisation, two processes that drove the Makerere reform. It argues that whereas privatisation (the entry of privately sponsored students) is compatible with a public university where priorities are publicly set, commercialisation (financial and administrative autonomy for each faculty to design a market-responsive curriculum) inevitably leads to a market determination of priorities in a public university. The book warns against commercialisation of public universities as the subversion of public institutions for private purposes.

In Asia, we are witnessing an era where the pendulum of power is swaying towards the East with the rising strength of China and India and Singapore is at the 'crossroads' between these populous nations. Although Singapore may appear to be the most westernized country in Asia, she is nevertheless a multi-cultural Asian society. Having the most open economy in the world, Singapore is plugged into the global marketplace of education and learning. The development of human capital is used as a strategic economic driver to internationalize and transform education for sustainable competitive advantage. Singapore's education system, regarded as one of the best performing in the world, offers a unique opportunity to explore the issues where east and west culture, values, beliefs and educational systems meet and adapt to bridge the divide. This first-of-its-kind book puts together topical key notions of eastern and western educational practices and looks at the underbelly of how a small 'resourceless' independent city-state like Singapore is managing to stay relevant against a backdrop of ever increasing intense global competition.

This collection of essays debates the application of market principles to and within the context of education. The contributors are all leading figures in their field, presenting their ideas in an accessible style to the lay reader. Throughout, the educational and public policy issues raised by the application of market principles to education are closely examined.

Through powerful narratives of parents of Black and Latinx students with disabilities, this book provides a unique look at the relationship between disability, race, urban space, and market-driven educational policies. Offering significant insights into complex forms of educational exclusion, the text illustrates the actual challenges and paradoxes of school choice faced by today’s parents. Included are explanations for the kinds of injustices students with disabilities face every day, as well as resources that can be helpful for engaging in collective action aimed at improving educational services for all children. This accessible resource offers recommendations to help policymakers, charter school administrators, teachers, and families tackle the challenges of school choice while dealing effectively with the new generation of inclusive schools. Book Features: Presents a first-of-its-kind look at how Black and Latinx parents of students with disabilities experience market-driven approaches to education. Identifies the consequences of push-out practices in charter schools and how families experience and resist these practices. Situates school choice amid historical and compounding forms of exclusion associated with geographical (neighborhood) and social (disability, race, and class) locations. Provides lessons learned and valuable guidance for creating a new generation of inclusive charter schools.