Higher Education and the Knowledge Economy: Economic Higher Education Policies and the Persistence of the German Research and Development System

Abstract

This chapter outlines the institutionalization of a knowledge economy in Germany, clarifies the role of the higher education sector in the national research and development (R&D) system, and outlines the policies designed to strengthen the relations between higher education and the economy. As an analytical scheme, two distinguishable ideal-typical relationships between higher education and the knowledge economy in Germany are elaborated: “higher education for the knowledge economy” and “higher education in the knowledge economy.” A clear reform-induced change in the higher education system has been observed, primarily for higher education for the knowledge economy (e.g. through higher education expansion). Since the 1990s, increased political efforts have been made to place universities in the knowledge economy by pushing the commercialization of knowledge. However, there is no clear evidence of the impact of policies that position higher education in the knowledge economy. In general, the German R&D system is characterized by a high degree of institutional stability.