A comparison of how American and Canadian universities receive and spend funds using data from fiscal year 1991-92 explored the link between general economic conditions and the financial health of universities. The analysis found that with respect to revenue patterns, Canadian universities receive their funds mainly from provincial governments (57.9 percent) while American universities are financed primarily from tuition and fees (25.7 percent on average), though public American universities are supported by 38.3 percent by the state with 17.1 percent of funds coming from tuition and fees. With respect to expenditure patterns, at both American and Canadian universities salaries and benefits are the greatest expenditure items though Canadian universities spend more than twice (65.6 percent) what American universities spend (30.7 percent) in this category. The analysis concludes that the current crisis in funding for public universities may mean that public universities will come to more closely resemble private institutions in operating with a diverse resource base. Further, public universities have been more subject to the whims of economic market forces. Without a diverse funding base, they are open to consequences of market force changes in their more singular resource base. (JB)