In the present moment of global capitalism, the marketisation of higher education is a reality in the Global South and North. Yet, the Southern experience of marketisation differs from that of the North. This article examines how market-based development in Sri Lanka since the economic liberalisation of 1977 has reshaped Sri Lankan university…

In 1955, Milton Friedman authored a foundational paper proposing a shift in funding and governance mechanisms for public K-12 schools, suggesting that parents be awarded tuition vouchers that they could use to pay for private sector education services for their children, rather than relying on government provided neighborhood schools. Friedman…

Neo-liberal policies and programs regarding higher education operate to fulfill either one of two main goals. The first is the privatization of public education. The second objective is the creation of an "iron cage" of economic rationality and standardization, which functions to regulate the production of human capital in the public education…

The typical method of presenting supply and demand in high school classes often leaves students with an impression that markets are simple and function effortlessly. In reality, the effectiveness of markets depends on the quality of complex institutions such as private property and property-rights enforcement. Students often do not realize that…

This paper explores the rising presence of transnational corporations (TNCs) in education and their mobilisation of global corporate social discourses to legitimise their private authority in education. The rising presence of TNCs is explored in the paper in two parts. First, through a taxonomy of global corporate social engagement (GCSE)…

This paper provides a detailed examination of "contracting," a type of privatization, and is intended to clarify the issues surrounding decisions to privatize public services. Privatization introduces competition among market participants as a means of generating revenue, spurring development of an industry, and/or improving the quality of…

In "Corporate School Takeovers," the National Education Association expresses indignation over profit making by private companies providing services to schools. Argues that profits are a way of recognizing costs that exist in all school settings. The seeking of profits is no more selfish than the seeking of higher salaries, promotions,…

India demonstrates many features characteristic of private higher education in much of the world. Among these features are proportional size, with roughly 30 percent of total enrollment, and fast growth. Also rather typical is finance, which comes almost exclusively from non-government sources, principally tuition, while public higher education is…

The management of school systems by for-profit private contractors is one alternative method of school reform. This document describes some private-management plans and examines some of the central issues. The arrangements between public school systems and three private contractors of education are described--Education Alternatives, Inc. (EAI),…

Describes Wall Street's growing interest in private education companies. Discusses the parallels between the emerging education industry of today and the fledgling health care industry of the 1970s. The acronym EMO (education management organization) is used to categorize companies that manage entire schools. Describes the niches created by the…

One of the salient concerns in contemporary higher education internationally is access, which is rapidly expanding. Another salient trend is the rapid expansion of private higher education. These two salient tendencies have not been treated in scholarship as heavily intertwined. Much of the reason is that many people associate "private"…

According to this article, community colleges are seeking ways to increase revenue and become less dependent on traditional state revenue resources. Increasingly, college presidents and trustees are finding empty pockets and depleted state coffers, despite the effort and hours spent lobbying legislatures for funding to support strategic plans.…

Calls for the continued privatization of public schools and the application of business solutions to school management problems are nothing new. Successful small-scale experiments at privatization will continue to have an incremental effect on educational reform. Even failed experiments offer opportunities about how to manage public education.…

This paper examines the emergence of privatization in Israel's educational system. The first part provides an overview of the provision of educational services in a welfare state. The second part describes educational privatization in a welfare state, and the third part presents examples of two forms of privatization that have emerged in the…

Explains free-market environmentalism, demonstrating how it is integral to environmental economics. Discusses issues such as market and government failures; the "tragedy of the commons"; and how to avoid said tragedy, focusing on the role of private property rights. Provides suggestions for history, social studies, and economics teachers on…