Massification of Higher Education and Labour Market: The Case of Taiwan
The issue of whether or how higher education can contribute to the labour market or employment has been an enduring topic. The most frequently raised argument by international organizations or governments is associated with the accumulation of human capit
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Massification of Higher Education and Labour Market: The Case of Taiwan Sheng-Ju Chan
Abstract The issue of whether or how higher education can contribute to the labour market or employment has been an enduring topic. The most frequently raised argument by international organizations or governments is associated with the accumulation of human capital. Several quantitative studies even indicate positive social and private returns to higher education on the basis of international research. This association between higher education and wage/income has substantially inspired the widening access to university education in many countries. Taiwan, as a massified higher education system, has achieved a high level of economic growth and productivity. However, this success is accompanied by personal extra study cost, competitive employment opportunity and declining income level. Thus, this chapter provides possible explanations about why and how this negative correlation is formed and what the implications of this dynamic relationship are to the government and individuals.
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Introduction
Higher education is a core sector of society that has grown in importance. To serve the diverse needs of a society, continuous expansion has become one of the major themes in modern higher education (McNay 2006). For example, the average participation rate among 25- to 34-year-old individuals in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was 26 % in 2000 and increased to 39 % in 2011 (OECD 2013: 39). East Asian countries have undergone the same process. Only 28 % of young people in Taiwan were allowed to enter universities in 1995, but the proportion increased to approximately 67 % in 2010. Tapper and Palfreyman (2005: 2) commented that ‘demand for wider access has historically been a complex process, in which a combination of personal S.-J. Chan (&) Graduate Institute of Education, National Chung Cheng University, Minxiong, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2017 K.H. Mok (ed.), Managing International Connectivity, Diversity of Learning and Changing Labour Markets, Higher Education in Asia: Quality, Excellence and Governance, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-1736-0_12
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preferences, economic pressures and political variables is interwoven’. They asserted that ‘there may be global economic forces which explain the international nature of the rise of mass higher education’, although the key determinant is uncertain (2005: 2). On the one hand, intensified global competition in economy and trade might trigger the further growth of higher education internationally. On the other hand, another rationale in driving wider access is related to the idea of the equality of opportunity. Along with the development of democratization in several countries, enlarged higher education systems seem effective in removing ‘institutional barriers in education to guarantee each social group an equal chance’ (Teichler 2009: 103). The major task of expanding higher e
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