Meric S. Gertler

With public support for higher education dwindling, and sociopolitical interferences and funding cuts afflicting institutions worldwide, the role of the modern university has become increasingly precarious. Recovering the University attempts to rectify its existential state through a reframing of present obstacles and opportunities. Returning to the fundamental principles that formed the backbone of universities, sixteenth president of the University of Toronto Meric S. Gertler and University of Toronto’s director of strategic research Anthony Gray remind us of the unrivaled value of these institutions. They show readers why society needs universities – indeed, why their contributions are more important today than ever – but also how universities must evolve in light of contemporary circumstances. The book also considers the factors underlying the dramatic decline in public support for universities in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, juxtaposed to those in China, Singapore, and the Middle East. Furthermore, it highlights the unique case study of the University of Toronto – an institution consistently ranked among the world’s very best universities, while being unusually large, diverse, and inclusive – as an actionable model for other institutions. Articulating a vital new vision for the university, Recovering the University will be transformative for educators, leaders, students, and anyone invested in the development of knowledge and learning.

Originally published in 1986. This book is concerned with how regional economies adapt and respond to changing circumstances, and especially with the spatial system and processes of restructuring. Throughout the book there is a methodological commitment to adjustment theory - a unique analytical framework for the study of the dynamics of advanced capitalist economies. Instead of homogenising space in the manner of neoclassical economic theory, the authors focus on adjustment processes that produce and reproduce spatial differentiation.The most important facets of regional economic structure are covered – employment, wages, prices, migration, and capital investment – in terms of their own dimensions and their connections with the larger theoretical framework. Each part of the book develops one particular dimension of regional adjustment, and each has an overview and summary. Within each part, there is a sequence of related studies focussing on the empirical aspects, theoretical logic, and distributive consequences of regional adjustment.

Originally published in 1986. This book is concerned with how regional economies adapt and respond to changing circumstances, and especially with the spatial system and processes of restructuring. Throughout the book there is a methodological commitment to adjustment theory - a unique analytical framework for the study of the dynamics of advanced capitalist economies. Instead of homogenising space in the manner of neoclassical economic theory, the authors focus on adjustment processes that produce and reproduce spatial differentiation.The most important facets of regional economic structure are covered – employment, wages, prices, migration, and capital investment – in terms of their own dimensions and their connections with the larger theoretical framework. Each part of the book develops one particular dimension of regional adjustment, and each has an overview and summary. Within each part, there is a sequence of related studies focussing on the empirical aspects, theoretical logic, and distributive consequences of regional adjustment.

Recent years have seen a lively debate over the role of tacit knowledge and interactive learning in privileging the local over the global. Yet, our continuing inability to answer questions such as 'when and why is the local important in production and innovation processes?' indicates that our understanding of the firm and the forces that shape its managers' choices remains weak. Such a theory ought to be able to answer fundamental questions like: why do firms in particular places adopt particular production and innovation practices, and not others? What forces determine what a firm 'knows' and when it is able to act upon this knowledge? How easy is it to transfer this knowledge between places? This book presents a new conception of industrial practice and firm behaviour. It explains how the cultures that shape the practices of firms and the trajectories of regional and national economies are actually produced. The analysis shows how the internal and inter-firm organization of production, use of technologies, and the industrial knowledge underpinning these practices are strongly influenced by their social and institutional context. Routine forms of behaviour are not simply inherited from past practice. Instead, they are shaped and constrained - though not wholly determined - by a set of institutions that govern how work is organized, workers are deployed, and technology is implemented. Because of the slowly evolving nature of these institutions, distinctive national 'models' are not converging around a single global norm.

The contributors first analyse recent public-sector initiatives that have altered the Canadian economy and transformed Canadian society. These include monetarist macroeconomic policies, a trade deal with the United States, and the increasing use of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to make regulatory decisions. The contributors then analyse the consequences of these changes for some of Canada's key industries and for Canadian social policy, noting the conservative agenda's effect on workers' incomes, work conditions, social benefits, and the role of the state in the economy. The final chapters explore possible alternatives and the difficult but very real choices economic and social policy makers must make with respect to macroeconomic management, employment, industrial strategy, and the environment. The contributors to this volume are Isabella Bakker, Duncan Cameron, Stephen Clarkson, Marjorie Cohen, Robert Cox, Arthur Donner, Daniel Drache, Colin Duncan, Meric S. Gertler, John Holmes, Jeanne Laux, Rianne Mahon, Michael Mandel, Anthony Masi, Jon Morris, John Myles, Paul Phillips, Abraham Rotstein, Frank Tester, Bruce Wilkinson.