The Formulation of Neo-liberal Policies in the English and Japanese Higher Education Systems

The study examines the formulation of neo-liberal policies in England and Japan in the last decade. The study argues that neo-liberalism does not determine a single pattern of policy formulation, since a different political culture has shaped the particular policy-making structure in the two countries. In England, a different value regarding the methodology of the application of neo-liberalism rather than the principle of neo-liberalism between individual influential stakeholders within the central authorities and the research intensive pre-1992 universities shapes the neo-liberal policy-making structure. In Japan, conflict and compromise between neo-liberal and anti-neo-liberal groups shape the structure of neo-liberal policy-making. The study took case studies: The Future of Higher Education (2003) in England, and A New Image of National University Corporations (2002) in Japan. The study applied the following qualitative method for data collection: (i) documentation; and (ii) semi-structured interviews with selected stakeholders involved in the two higher education systems