Public universities, in search of enhanced funding

Many countries rely for the majority of their university education on public universities. Public universities have a certain degree of autonomy to compete for research funding, to establish profit making start-ups or sell patents or to find other funding for their research. They can sometimes also set tuition fees for their educational efforts, for all students or for specific subgroups of students. These additional funds are very important for public universities to maintain their international position, in particular in cases where governments are retreating in funding (like, for example, in California). We start by consider the impact of funding on the quality of research and teaching and though research and teaching on the economy. Finally we consider the possible effects of the Covid-19 crisis on university funding.

JEL Classification: F22, I22, I23, I28, O15, O32, O34

Keywords: University finance, tuition fees, Government policy, International student migration, innovation, human capital, economic development, Covid-19