Financing the Future

Editor’s note: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) annual Education at a Glance report provides a snapshot of the financial indicators impacting education across OECD’s member countries. This group of 36 industrialized countries includes most of the main players in international education—from North America and Europe to East Asia and the Middle East—and works together to develop and promote better economic and social policies, of which education is integral.

NAFSA invited Andreas Schleicher, who serves as director for education and skills as well as special adviser on education policy to the secretary-general at OECD, to share his insights on the current financial state of international higher education based on the Education at a Glance 2018: OECD Indicators report. By understanding what countries are doing within their own higher education systems, including financial investment and its implications, international educators can better comprehend the flow of international students globally.

The financial returns from receiving a postsecondary degree in the United States are among the highest in the world. In the United States and in other OECD countries, pursuing a degree pays off—for both individuals and governments in terms of overlapping incentives and a lifetime of increased earning potential (and taxes on those earnings).

Given these mutual benefits, there is often consensus that the costs of higher education should be shared, in principle, yet the cost of a university education varies widely across OECD countries due to multiple factors. Some of the questions surrounding the relationship between students and governments over