Higher Education and the Economy in Times of Rising Inequality

Dear Colleagues,

World societies are facing unprecedented challenges, including climate change, the rise of political populism, rising inequality, and declining social mobility, to name but a few. As quintessential knowledge institutions, universities and other types of higher education institutions (HEIs) play an increasingly important role in addressing such challenges, along their tripartite mission of teaching, research and societal engagement. Despite a growing number of studies shedding light on the critical role of HEIs to the socio-economic development of their surrounding localities and nations, little is still known with regard to the internal effects that disruptive societal developments, known in policy circles as ‘the Grand challenges’, are having (if at all) in the internal fabric—formal and informal structures, functions, processes, internal and external linkages, etc.—of HEIs. With this aim in mind, we appeal to colleagues from within the broader spectrum of the social sciences—economists, political scientists, historians, organizational scholars, anthropologists, etc.—for novel contributions, both empirically and conceptually grounded, with respect to the societal role of HEIs across the world in times of unprecedented social and economic turbulence and turmoil. We are particularly keen to receive accounts of how HEIs, and the multiple actors composing them (students, academics, administrators/managers, external constituents, etc.), are responding (or not) to disruptive societal events; and, in turn, on how these responses, or the lack thereof, are shaping higher education systems and institutions in the first part of the 21st century.

Expressions of interest and/or short abstracts for consideration can be sent to the Guest Editor or the Editorial Office.

Prof. Dr. Romulo Miguel Pinheiro
Dr. Yuzhou Cai
Prof. Dr. Paul Benneworth
Guest Editor

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