Universities Striving for a Global Leadership Review of the book: Münch R. Academic Capitalism: Universities in the Global Struggle for Excellence
Using a regression analysis involving an array of empirical data, Richard Münch describes the results of the changes that have been observed in universities since the 1970s. These changes entail a number of negative effects, among which the author puts emphasis on using mostly quantitative indicators to assess research and other university activities, as well as on the increasing commercialization of research results. Consequently, the higher education system is becoming ever more stratified, with a growing gap between the “nucleus” of universities with a powerful economic, cultural and social capital and the “periphery” lagging behind. This is lowering the overall level of creativity in research and slowing down the rate of new knowledge production. Münch's book is of the utmost interest for Russian researchers in higher education, especially in the context of the newly adopted policy of boosting competitiveness of Russian education in the international arena.