University competition, student migration and regional economic differentials in the United Kingdom

University entrance for undergraduate degree courses is highly competitive in the United Kingdom, both among students and universities. A model is proposed of regional competition among the latter, from which a number of indices of their relative competitiveness are derived. These are applied to empirical evidence for groups of neighbouring universities from which a regional pattern of competitiveness emerges in harmony with the national ‘north-south’ divide. The model is then extended to other aspects of higher education and to the wider space economy. Certain implications are identified, bearing in mind changes in the level and funding of degree course provision now being introduced nationally.

[1]  R. Martin.  The Political Economy of Britain's North-South Divide , 1988 .

[2]  Sandra Johnson.  Comparability in degree awards: Implications of two decades of secondary-level examinations research , 1988 .

[3]  D. Angel.  The Labor Market for Engineers in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry , 1989 .

[4]  Jacqueline M. Desbarats,et al.  ESTIMATING EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS TO MIGRATION , 1977 .

[5]  J. Johnes,et al.  Degree quality: An investigation into differences between UK universities , 1987 .

[6]  N. Reid,et al.  Class, sex, religion and destination: Participation and higher education in Northern Ireland , 1984 .

[7]  J. Morgan,et al.  The determinants of interstate student migration: a place-to-place analysis , 1984 .

[8]  J. H. Wilson.  The student expenditure impact of a university on the local economy , 1975 .

[9]  The Economic Value of Higher Education , 1989 .

[10]  J. M. Desbarats,et al.  Constrained Choice and Migration , 1983 .

[11]  H. Muta.  Higher education policy and freshman migration in Japan , 1988 .

[12]  D. Keeble,et al.  High-Technology Industry and Regional Development in Britain: The Case of the Cambridge Phenomenon , 1989 .

[13]  J. Johnes,et al.  The first destination of new graduates: comparisons between universities , 1989 .

[14]  R. Johnston.  The southwards drift: preliminary analyses of the career patterns of 1980 graduates in Great Britain , 1989 .

[15]  Larry L. Leslie,et al.  The economic value of higher education , 1989 .

[16]  Robert L. Miller,et al.  Trends in Higher Education Participation in Northern Ireland , 1988 .

[17]  A. Hoare.  Bias in University Enrolments: A Regional Analysis , 1991 .

[18]  Regional economic effects of higher education institutions , 1974 .

[19]  A. Townsend,et al.  The North-south divide : regional change in Britain in the 1980s , 1989 .

[20]  S. Wicksteed.  Universities, enterprise and local economic development : an exploration of links, based on experience from studies in Britain and elsewhere : a report for the Manpower Services Commission , 1988 .