Reforming European Universities: the Welfare State as a Missing Context (CPP RPS 67/2014)

Abstract

This paper is focused on the links between reform agendas and their rationales in higher education and in welfare state services across Europe. Lessons learnt from past and ongoing, as well as recently accelerating welfare state reforms following the fiscal crisis, can be useful in understanding ongoing and future higher education reforms. Research on reforming European welfare states is a missing context in research on reforming European universities. We intend to fill this gap and briefly explore possible links between these two largely isolated policy and research areas.