Rituals of reform, policy transfer, and the national university corporation reforms of Japan

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Goldfinch, Shaun
• 署名单位: Autonomous University of Barcelona
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0491.2006.00341.x
• 发表日期: 2006
• 关键词: regulatory capitalism; diffusion

摘要

In 2004, Japan restructured the state-directed public university system to create the national university corporations (NUCs). Proponents of the reforms made explicit mention of agentification in the United Kingdom, changes to university management structures elsewhere, and reforms in the wider Japanese public sector. As such, the NUC reforms are an example of policy transfer. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, however, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has not surrendered the large degree of control it had manifested over the university system. Rather the means of control have changed from largely direct ones to largely indirect ones. Policy transfer provided a means by which MEXT could legitimate its policy stance by referring to developments elsewhere, show it was responding to pressure for reform by adopting its rhetoric and superficial forms, but use this to capture the policy agenda to its own ends.