Under-funding will mean the end of quality UK universities

Great Britain has won no Nobel prizes in the past 25 years compared to 10 in the 30 before that - a striking illustration of the ongoing decline of its universities.

That's the view of Financial Times chief economics commentator Martin Wolf who was in Wellington last month as a guest of the New Zealand Business Roundtable.

Mr Wolf said quality UK universities were losing ground against their US counterparts in terms of funding and quality.

For example, Britain had 80 of the 1,200 most widely cited scientists, against 700 in the United States. In microbiology, it was six, fewer than in Harvard University alone.

Mr Wolf compared the university system to the "failed model of the nationalised industry" citing an underpaid and demoralised mass workforce and chronic under-funding.

What was needed - to boost income - was competition, the freedom to set fees and employment conditions, and student loans (repaid on an income-contingent basis) to fund fees and maintenance.

Mr Wolf's presentation - "Why Universities have not been saved" - is downloadable as a PowerPoint presentation.

Mr Wolf also delivered the NZBR 2004 Trotter Lecture on his visit. More information is at this web page.