Comparaison Internationale des Modes d’Organisation et de Financement de l’Enseignement Supérieur

In this contribution, we study the organization and the funding mechanisms of higher education. We show that higher education is organized and funded very differently among OECD countries. We put forward the fact that this heterogeneity in its organization and funding corresponds to different conceptions about the nature of higher education. It can either be considered as a private investment good or as a public good. The Asian countries studied treat higher education as a private investment good. An important part of higher education is organized and funded by the private sector, notably the beneficiaries, but its provision is regulated by the State. The Anglo-Saxon countries seem to consider higher education as a good located at the border between the private and the public good. The organization and the funding of institutions are really shared between the private and the public sectors. In the Continental European countries, the conception of higher education is closer to that of a public good. Most of the funding comes from the States and it is often underfunded. Finally, higher education is considered as a real public good in the Scandinavian countries where students can even be subsidized to attend higher education