Martí Parellada - Böcker

The second chapter describes the national reform processes of the six selected countries, giving a voice to the individual university rectors and officials who played an important role during the reform processes.

This book examines governance reforms in higher education in six European countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal. It focuses in particular on the governance of the systems and institutions in these countries. The book shows that each of the national reform processes has been characterised by its own specific pathways embedded in the country’s specific socio-economic contexts and cultures, but also has a number of features in common with the other countries and processes. The first chapter of the book presents a conceptual framework to analyse the reform processes as an ’implementation game’ played by several actors with diverse interests. The second chapter describes the national reform processes of the six selected countries, giving a voice to the individual university rectors and officials who played an important role during the reform processes. Their stories constitute a vivid narrative of the government drivers of reform and of the rationales of the institutions as main partners in the reform processes. These narratives are analysed, complemented by, and contrasted with a review of the literature on the subject in the third chapter. The final chapter consist of concluding remarks and lessons learned.

Why are some regions in the European Union 'winners' of economic integration? And why are others 'losers'? This book explores these important questions and examines the relationship between economic integration, regional convergence, and divergence. In doing so it gives an overview of the most recent evolution of regional disparities in the EU. Central and peripheral regions are analysed as well as those in a re-conversion economic process. The authors address the question of whether regions tend to converge or not from different points of view. They particularly assess the impact of the Monetary Union on regional economies from theoretical and empirical approaches. Other important aspects covered include: the European regional policy, the effects of structural funds and the reforms needed. No doubt, this is an excellent book for anybody interested in learning more about regional trends and prospects in an increasingly integrated world.