Higher Education and Work in the Knowledge Economy: Power, Prestige and Precarity

In recent years, the ‘knowledge economy’ has re-entered political discourse as a future-oriented, seductive and optimistic concept. It heralds knowledge and intellectual capability as unlimited and mobile resources of production that can be used for the prosperity of all. Knowledge economy has been linked with the promise of fairness, free from the traditional factors of production, with education as the only prerequisite. This interdisciplinary volume examines the career paths of university graduates, the role of higher education and the internal hierarchies shaping employment in the knowledge economy.

The promise of fairness and social inclusivity has not yet played out. Despite increasing numbers of degree holders, the advancements of AI and other technologies is now expected to bring a ‘knowledge substitution’ rather than a human-centred knowledge economy. This book raises questions about the kind of jobs being made available, their social and political implications and how the main sociological themes of gender, class, education, ethnicity, age and location play a role. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of work and employment, higher education, youth studies and knowledge management.

Maria-Carmen Pantea is a Professor in Sociology and Social Work at Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania, and an Advisory Board member of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership. Her research interests focus on young people’s relationships with work in its various forms.

Ken Roberts is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool, UK. He is one of European sociology’s most experienced youth researchers. In all his work, he has employed the concept of opportunity structures that he coined.

Dan Cristian Dabija is Professor of Marketing at Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania. He has led two national research projects and is a frequent contributor and guest-editor in leading business and economics journals.