The Fountain of Knowledge: The Role of Universities in Economic Development by Shiri M. Breznitz

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Fountain of Knowledge: The Role of Universities in Economic Development by Shiri M. Breznitz James J. Harrington, PH.D. Shiri M. Breznitz. The Fountain of Knowledge: The Role of Universities in Economic Development. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2014. 181 pp. Cloth: $60.00. ISBN: 978-0-8047-8961-5. The Fountain of Knowledge is described as “the story of the university in a changing world, and in particular its role in economic development” (p. xiii) with the added note that policy makers have started to view the universities as the pathways to a region becoming a successful part of the global economy—what Breznitz describes as “universities and their role in the global economy: how and why they are contributing to their local economies” (p. xiv). This is a small book filled with insight and data. A well written and clear statement of the issues surrounding technology transfer and local economic growth, it is appropriate for the beginner seeking to develop a foundation, as well as the practitioner seeking to understand and improve their knowledge and performance. It has proven very helpful to me as a scholar working in the field of development economics and higher education history. My own work in the comparative, international history of higher education in the developing nations supports and affirms much of what she details in these case studies in the U.S. (Yale) and the U.K. (Cambridge). While I have a more regional economic focus, Breznitz emphasizes the internal processes and external environment of the institutions themselves as economic engines for their communities. It is a given that universities produce both the young minds and the research critical to economic growth and development. In the current technological age, value is often measured by the number of patents, licenses, and spin-out firms. Breznitz emphasizes that this success depends on the ability of the university to transfer knowledge into the public domain in conjunction with the ability of the region to absorb that information (p. 1). The case studies describe how it is done (and not done). The Fountain uses two internationally recognized universities, Yale and Cambridge, to test theory and practice. Breznitz’s model to guide this discussion notes two ways to assess an institution’s contribution to the annual flow of a regional economy. The classic, or ‘short run,’ method is to determine the institution’s contribution to the annual flow of regional economic activity. The ‘long run’ method focuses on the contribution to the continuing growth of human capital in the region …. Hence, the ability of a university to patent, license, and spin out firms has a direct impact on the long-run economic development of a region, which is the focus of this book. (p. 4) The research examines institutional differences as key elements, intertwined in social, economic, and political factors, and in combination with historical and environmental influences. While focusing on how the system of technology commercialization works, including investment and process, and the university’s skill in operating the process, Breznitz maintains a focus on the institution, history, and environment – the context: We have a public versus a private university, an institution that had a history of university-industry relationships and one that did not, one that has funding and allows [End Page 621] faculty to focus on research and one that focuses on teaching and has limited research funding. This provides the basis for the differentiation of the two universities, but it is also the basis from which we start out journey toward understanding the optimal formula for technology commercialization and knowledge transfer. (p. 14) Significant information is provided to explain the theory and the practical. Equally important are the issues and explanations of internal university operations and the linkages among the universities and the regional firms and local industry. It is a thorough and readable discussion. The era of the discussion, the 1990s, was a period of change in the economic and academic environments that Breznitz uses to compare Yale and Cambridge. The data is also judged against the commercialization experiences of Harvard and MIT. For this volume, it is the internal factors that produce the most significant lessons: the importance...