GATS: Long-term strategy for the commodification of education

GATS: Long-term strategy for the commodification of education

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) covers also the cross-border provision of education. Currently negotiations are underway to expand the scope of the liberalization commitments in GATS. The article describes the strategies that allowed education to be seen as a tradable commodity. It...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of international political economy : RIPE 2005-08, Vol.12 (3), p.484-510
Main Author: Scherrer, Christoph
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Adult education
Agreements
Bildung
Bildungseinrichtung
Commodification
Constitutionalism
Deregulation
Education
Education policy
Educational planning
Educational Programs
European Union
GATS
GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services)
Globalization
Higher education
International agreements
International education
International political economy
International Trade
Liberalism
Liberalization
Neoliberalism
Public Sector Private Sector Relations
Section: GATS: Trading Development?
Strategic studies
Studies
transnational education
Treaties
World Bank
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Description
Summary:The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) covers also the cross-border provision of education. Currently negotiations are underway to expand the scope of the liberalization commitments in GATS. The article describes the strategies that allowed education to be seen as a tradable commodity. It analyzes the specific role of GATS procedures and of the already existent GATS commitments in the process of the commodification of education. It assesses the competitive lead of Anglo-Saxon providers. It looks at what is at stake in the current round taking the case of the EU as an example. The EU stands for countries that have not yet made many commitments and are now under pressure to liberalize education. The article argues that the concerns about the future impact of GATS are to be taken seriously. In line with the spread of neo-liberal constitutionalism, GATS provides a political and legal framework for deregulation and privatization of education. GATS can be used to secure the power of capital in the long term by privileging private owners of educational services in relation to the public and to the actual providers of these services, the faculty.
ISSN:0969-2290
1466-4526