Public/private in higher education: a synthesis of economic and political approaches
本文综合新古典经济学和政治理论中关于'公共'与'私人'的两种定义，提出一个四象限分析框架（公民社会、社会民主、国家准市场、商业市场），用于审视高等教育和研究。
The public/private distinction is central to higher education but there is no consensus on ‘public’. In neo-classical economic theory, Samuelson distinguishes non-market goods (public) that cannot be produced for profit, from market-based activity (private). This provides a basis for identifying the minimum necessary public expenditure, but does not effectively encompass collective goods, or normative elements. In political theory ‘public’ is often understood as state ownership and/or control. Dewey regards social transactions as ‘public’ when they have relational consequences for persons other than those directly engaged, and so become matters of state concern. This is more inclusive than Samuelson but without limit on costs. Neither definition is wholly satisfactory, each offers something, and each can be used to critically interrogate the other. The article synthesises the two approaches, applying the resulting analytical framework with four quadrants (civil society, social democracy, state quasi-market and commercial market) to higher education and research.