Engineering the expansion of higher education: High skills, advanced manufacturing, and the knowledge economy

Niccolo Durazzi

Regulation & Governance, 2023, vol. 17, issue 1, 121-141

Abstract: The article develops a framework to explain an empirical observation that runs counter received wisdom in comparative political economy, namely the co‐existence of large higher education systems and thriving manufacturing sectors in advanced capitalist countries. Introducing the concept of skill breadth, the article hypothesizes that: (i) advanced manufacturing firms have narrow skill needs concentrated around STEM skills; (ii) these skills are likely to be under‐supplied by the higher education system unless dedicated public policies are put in place; and (iii) governments intervene in higher education policy to ensure the availability of those skills that are crucial for firms located in key sectors of national knowledge economies. Cross‐country survey data of employer preferences for higher education graduates and case studies of recent higher education policy change in Germany and South Korea provide strong support for the argument. The article advances our overall understanding of skill formation systems in the knowledge economy and testifies to the persistent presence of policy levers that governments can employ to manage the economy and to support domestic firms.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12439

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:reggov:v:17:y:2023:i:1:p:121-141

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Regulation & Governance from John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().