The West Need Not Panic

Newsweek, August, 2008

Because it can prosper from the rise of the rest in higher ed.

Rapid growth in Asia and the Middle East has led many to conclude that U.S. economic hegemony is ending. Now one might ask if the same is happening to U.S. academic hegemony, as these regions make impressive investments in higher education.

For the moment, the United States still dominates, more decisively than it ever did the economy. America may produce 25 percent of the world’s economic output, but it accounts for 40 percent of global spending on higher education and 35 percent on R&D. In 2005, it devoted 2.9 percent of its GDP to postsecondary schooling, while the EU, Japan, China and India spent less than 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, of the world’s top 20 universities, between 12 and 16 (depending on...

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