The Great Brain Race tells the story of the transformation of the global academic landscape in recent years. Nearly 3 million students now study outside their home nations; globe-trotting faculty hop from the United States to Singapore to Saudi Arabia; Western universities create branch campuses in the Middle East and Asia; and new or rejuvenated research universities in China, South Korea, Europe, and beyond vie with American giants for the top spots in global education rankings.
Wildavsky’s book makes the case that, despite worries about heightened university competition and an ever-fiercer race for talent, the globalization of higher education should be welcomed, not feared. That’s because increasing knowledge is not a zero-sum game: the unhindered movement of people and ideas around the globe has enormous economic and intellectual benefits for individuals, for nations, and for the world.
