Universities and Colleges as Economic Drivers

Description

Local, state, and national economies are facing unprecedented levels of international competition. The current fiscal crisis has hampered the ability of many governments in the developed world to directly facilitate economic growth. At the same time, many governments in the developing world are investing significant new resources into local infrastructure and industry development initiatives. At the heart of the current economic transformation lie our colleges and universities. Through their roles in education, innovation, knowledge transfer, and community engagement, these institutions are working toward spurring economic growth and prosperity.

This book brings together leading scholars from a variety of disciplines to assess how universities and colleges exert impact on economic growth. The contributors consider various methodologies, metrics, and data sources that may be used to gauge the performance of diverse higher education institutions in improving economic outcomes in the United States and around the world. Also presented are new typologies of economic development activities and related state policies that are designed to improve understanding of such initiatives and generate new energy and focus for an international community of scholars and practitioners working to formulate new models for how public universities and colleges may lead economic development in their states and communities while still performing their traditional educational functions.

Universities and Colleges as Economic Drivers is meant to cultivate greater understanding among elected officials, business representatives, policymakers, and other concerned parties about the central roles universities and colleges play in national, state, and local economies.
Illustrations

Foreword by Nancy L. Zimpher

Acknowledgments

1. Higher Education and Economic Competitiveness
Jason E. Lane

2. The Diversity of University Economic Development Activities and Issues of Impact Measurement
Thomas Gais and David Wright

3. Pitfalls of Traditional Measures of Higher Education’s role in Economic Development
Peter McHenry, Allen R. Sanderson, and John J. Siegfried

4. On the Measurement of University Research Contributions to Economic Growth and Innovation
Maryann P. Feldman, Allan M. Freyer, and Lauren Lanahan

5. University Industry Government Collaboration for Economic Growth
Laura I. Schultz

6. The Convergence of Postsecondary Education and the Labor Market
Anthony P. Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose

7. The Essential Role of Community Colleges in Rebuilding the Nation’s Communities and Economies
James Jacobs

8. The International Dimensions of Higher Education’s Contributions to Economic Development
Jason E. Lane and Taya L. Owens

9. Unanticipated Consequences of University Intellectual Property Policies
Jason Owen‑Smith

10. The Impact of the 2008 Great Recession on College and University Contributions to State and Regional Economic Growth
D. Bruce Johnstone

Contributors

Sujets

• Political economy
• Tertiary education
• Central
• National

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 20 novembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438445021
• Langue: English

Extrait

SUNY SERIES , C RITICAL I SSUES IN H IGHER E DUCATION
Jason E. Lane and D. Bruce Johnstone, editors

Universities and Colleges as Economic Drivers
Measuring Higher Education's Role in Economic Development
Edited by Jason E. Lane and D. Bruce Johnstone
Foreword by Nancy L. Zimpher

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2012 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Production by Ryan Morris
Marketing by Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Universities and colleges as economic drivers: Measuring Higher Education's Role in Economic Development / edited by Jason E. Lane and D. Bruce Johnstone.
p. cm. — (SUNY series, critical issues in higher education)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-4500-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4384-4501-4 (hard-cover : alk. paper)
1. Education, Higher—Economic aspects. 2. Academic-industrial collaboration. 3. Economic development—Effect of education on. I. Lane, Jason E.
II. Johnstone, D. Bruce (Donald Bruce), 1941–
LC67.6.U55 2012
338.4'3378—dc23
2012003678
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C ONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Foreword
N ANCY L. Z IMPHER
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Higher Education and Economic Competitiveness
J ASON E. L ANE
Chapter 2: The Diversity of University Economic Development Activities and Issues of Impact Measurement
T HOMAS G AIS AND D AVID W RIGHT
Chapter 3: Pitfalls of Traditional Measures of Higher Education's Role in Economic Development
P ETER M C H ENRY , A LLEN R. S ANDERSON, AND J OHN J. S IEGFRIED
Chapter 4: On the Measurement of University Research Contributions to Economic Growth and Innovation
M ARYANN P. F ELDMAN , A LLAN M. F REYER, AND L AUREN L ANAHAN
Chapter 5: University Industry Government Collaboration for Economic Growth
L AURA I. S CHULTZ
Chapter 6: The Convergence of Postsecondary Education and the Labor Market
A NTHONY P. C ARNEVALE AND S TEPHEN J. R OSE
Chapter 7: The Essential Role of Community Colleges in Rebuilding the Nation's Communities and Economies
J AMES J ACOBS
Chapter 8: International Dimensions of Higher Education's Contributions to Economic Development
J ASON E. L ANE AND T AYA L. O WENS
Chapter 9: Unanticipated Consequences of University Intellectual Property Policies
J ASON O WEN -S MITH
Chapter 10: The Impact of the 2008 Great Recession on College and University Contributions to State and Regional Economic Growth
D. B RUCE J OHNSTONE
Appendix: Discussion Questions
Contributors
I LLUSTRATIONS Table 4.1 Evaluation of the Center for Environmental Solvents and Processes (CERSP) Table 4.2 IMPLAN Estimates of Annual Economic Impacts for the CERSP Table 4.3 Comparison of NSF Chemistry Grants (I) Table 4.4 Comparison of NSF Chemistry Programs (II) Figure 4.1 CERSP New and Active Research Projects, 2000–2009 Figure 4.2 Distribution of CERSP Funds by Project over the Formative, Transition, and Legacy Phases Figure 5.1 Sample Bibliometric Analysis of Research Outputs Figure 6.1 Attainment of College Degrees for Prime-age Workers in OECD Countries, 2008 Figure 6.2 Attainment of College Degrees for Workers Aged 25 to 34 in OECD Countries, 2008 Figure 6.3 Wage Premium of Skilled versus Unskilled Labor, 1915–2005 Figure 6.4 Annual Change in Relative Demand for Workers with Postsecondary Education, 1915–2005 Figure 6.5 Wage Premium for a Bachelor's Degree or Better, 2005 Figure 6.6 Gini Coefficient for Household Incomes, 1967–2009 Figure 6.7 Estimated Median Lifetime Earnings by Education Level Figure 6.8 Unemployment Rates by Level of Education, 1970–2010 Figure 6.9 Proportion of Jobs by Level of Required Education Figure 6.10 Earnings Overlap among Workers with Different Levels of Education Figure 6.11 Median Earnings of Bachelor's Degree Holders by College Major Table 8.1 Top Three International Themes in Economic Statements Table 8.2 U.S. Private Education Services, by Category, in Millions of Dollars Table 8.3 International Student Economic Impact in U.S. by Region, AY 2010–2011 Table 9.1 Intellectual Property Policies, EPU and BSU, 2000
F OREWORD
I n late spring 2009 I arrived in New York State, the new chancellor of The State University of New York, by way of Ohio, where I had just concluded six years as president of the University of Cincinnati. In the handful of years between 2003 and 2009, my time as UC's head, the United States had undergone remarkable change, much of which, current zeitgeist tells us, was not for the better.
A consensus of decline is especially evident when it comes to discussion of the nation's economy. In 2003 it began to look as though the country was overcoming the short but intense downturn spurred by the burst of the Dot-com bubble and compounded in an unprecedented way by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, both of which served to define those shaky first years of the new millennium. By 2003, though, the economic forecast seemed, by many indicators, to be brighter—but by 2009 the word recession had reentered our daily vocabulary with a vengeance. In 2003 consumer spending was up; in 2009 consumer confidence charted abysmally low. In 2003 the GDP surged upward at its fastest pace in nearly two decades; in 2009 it bottomed out at its lowest point in almost thirty years. In 2003 the national unemployment rate hovered around 6 percent; by June 2009, when I came to New York, national unemployment had climbed to 9.5 percent—the highest it had been since the early 1980s.
It was a grim picture, indeed. And this is not to say that 2003 was an economic paradise lost or that any one thing went calamitously wrong in 2009 to sink the GDP, kill millions of jobs, and shake the country's confidence to its core. Rather, it was a long, crooked road to the edge of a precipice—and it is there that we find ourselves today as the economy, while it makes some modest gains, continues to struggle. Life on the edge is uncertain and unsustainable. So, facing our future, the questions we need to answer can be framed as such: Do the solutions to our very serious economic challenges lie behind us, on the road from whence we came? Or are they to be found on the other side of a chasm? And if so, how do we build the bridge to get there?
I am a firm believer that the path to our economic vitality and sustainability does not lie behind us, but that it is ahead of us, on the far side of the divide. And I am equally convinced that institutions and systems of higher education—America's universities, colleges, and community colleges—will build the bridge to get us there. They, as the creators of new knowledge and understanding, as vibrant and reliable anchor institutions in our communities, and as both providers and creators of a vast spectrum of jobs, are in an unmatched position to serve as the most powerful engines for our economic revitalization. The expert authors who contributed to this volume agree.
It is not the purpose of this work to point fingers or surmise how we came to find ourselves clinging to the edge of a crumbling economy. Rather, it is our entirely constructive aim to offer a means of pulling ourselves up and moving forward toward building a brighter, better, and more prosperous future for New York, the country, and the world. The State University of New York is designating itself as a thought leader on this front, driving the national conversation about higher education's role in revitalizing the country's economy. One way to develop the dialogue is through convening meetings of experts on the subject matter; another way is to publish and further disseminate that work. Here, with the release of this volume, we have done both.
Colleges and Universities as Economic Drivers is the first volume in what will be a series of works entitled Critical Issues in Higher Education , after SUNY's conference series of the same name. Not a typical publication of proceedings from our inaugural conference, “Universities as Economic Drivers: Measuring and Building Success,” held in Buffalo, New York, on September 26 and 27, 2011, Colleges and Universities as Economic Drivers should be viewed as a continuation of the dialogue sparked there and a tool to extend the reach of those discussions well beyond the conference room walls.
The Buffalo meeting was an outstanding success. SUNY brought together more than four hundred education experts, business and industry professionals, community partners, and others from within our own SUNY system, as well as from twenty-eight states, and Canada and France. The intention of this book is the same as that of the conference—to cultivate greater understanding among elected officials, business representatives, policymakers, academics, and other concerned parties about the central roles universities and colleges play in national, state, and local economies. Each chapter, in its own right, provides a meaningful contribution to the field by providing an update to some of the foundational work in the field or providing cutting-edge and thought-provoking analysis. We are proud to say that this is one