Hungary's effort since the 1970s to establish short-term objectives for higher education to meet immediate needs and to undertake a complex, comprehensive development plan to the year 2000 is similar to many countries' attempts to meet wide-ranging educational and economic needs in a changing social and economic climate. (MSE)

Evidence from four Eastern and three Western European countries suggests that there has been some convergence in the application of manpower and social demand criteria to higher education planning. The theoretical case for and against manpower planning is discussed, and the approaches of specific countries are described. (Author/MLW)