La universidad española en un mundo globalizado

Los recursos

Abstract

This article comprises a first investigation —in the 21st century— into the University in Spain
in comparison with post-secondary level education systems world wide. It analyses university
resources and their distribution by countries. First it presents international data regarding general
levels of scholing and then goes on to focus on «tertiary education» (post-secondary schooling
level). Evolution over the last three decades is shown, as are the current estimates of student
numbers. It analyses economic resources within the context of the inequalities existing in all
countries around the world, besides the proportion of gross national product (GNP) and the cost per
student. It differentiates the public from the private sector, various levels of the Administration, and
the systems that provide students with economic assistance. Analysed in detail among such
resources are those relating to research and development (R+D), in terms of human capital and
budget alike. The article closes with a look at data regarding university libraries in the context of
libraries as a whole that exist in each country. This article demonstrates the most significant
differences between Spanish universities as compared with those in other countries in the European
Union. The best possible data provided by UNESCO, the OECD, the World Bank, and the United
Nations are used. This article forms part of a line of research that is being developed in
collaboration with several centres: University of Barcelona, the State University of Navarre (these
first two are located in Spain), Georgetown University, University of Pennsylvania and the Social
Sciences Committee of the European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research
(part of the European Commission in Brussels).