Rankings and a system of endless competition

By Brendan Cantwell and Barrett J Taylor. Universities around the world increasingly compete with one another for resources. Within countries this competition occurs through funding mechanisms. Especially prominent is the international trend away from block grant funding to the competitive allocation of research funds.
Competition also occurs internationally as universities vie for the best research staff and students on what is approaching a worldwide basis. Such wide-scale competition can produce large gaps between winners and losers. More...