The impact of neo-liberalism on Taiwanese higher education

Abstract

Worldwide systems of higher education are experiencing intense and unprecedented transformation, both in its operation and in their relationship to governments. The adoption of neo-liberal, free-market economic policies in the 1980s, and the consequent deregulation of education has impacted many systems in Europe, North and South America, and Asia (including New Zealand and Australia) (Olssen, 2002). Many of these nations have restructured their systems of public education in an attempt to acquire relative autonomy and to assume responsibility as individual institutions. As a result of deregulation and liberalization, the trends of individual institutions are to become more competitive and accountable by creating an overall market mechanism within the education system (Giroux, 2002; Dale, 2001). The issuance of educational loans by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) supports these trends. In general, the IMF and WB serve as a support mechanism for neo-liberalism in Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe by the promotion of market mechanisms which effect increases in private investment in education and accountability in higher education institutions (Chou, 2003).

Citation

Prudence Chou, C. (2008), "The impact of neo-liberalism on Taiwanese higher education", Baker, D.P. and Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) The Worldwide Transformation of Higher Education (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 297-312. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3679(08)00010-8