福利國家的建立是第一次世界大戰後西方先進國家的主流。然而， 1970年代時，因為石油危機所引發的經濟問題，以及全球化時代的來臨，使得福利國家逐漸面臨風險與危機。為因應此危機，許多國家因而調整其財政運作方式，也連帶地使得國家的型態與角色面臨轉型。在這樣的轉型過程中，競爭國家體制逐漸取代福利國家體制，成為當代西方主要的國家型態。在福利國家轉型成競爭國家的情勢下，也同時對高等教育的發展帶來不同層面的影響。在福利國家型態中，高等教育是福利清單中的一種項目；然而在競爭國家型態中，高等教育則轉變成用來提高國家競爭力的主要工具之一。 本文的目的即在透過相關文獻之分析，一方面探討此種國家轉型的過程；另一方面，則剖析這兩種不同的國家類型對高等教育的影響。大體而言，這些影響主要呈現在兩個層面上： 1.就政府而言，其在高等教育領域所扮演的角色，由國家控制走向市場化；而政府的高等教育政策重點，則從干預轉向策略導向。 2.就高等教育機構而言，追求學術卓越的用意在於提高國際競爭力；高等教育機構的定位則從創造福利的最大化，轉向重視創業精神與獲利能力。然而，無論是國家或高等教育機構，如何在這樣的轉型中面對社會公平正義的問題，則是一仍需要審慎思考的挑戰。

The establishment of the welfare state is the mainstream in advanced Western countries after World War Ι. However, due to the economic problems caused by oil crisis and the challenges brought by globalization, the welfare states have been increasingly at risk and in crisis since 1970s. In response to the crisis, many countries have adjusted their financial operations, which therefore cause the transition of the type and role of the nation. In this transformation process, the competitive state system gradually replaces the welfare state system and becomes an important national type in modern Western countries. The change of state types -- from welfare state to competitive state -- also brings about different levels of impacts on the development of higher education. Higher education was one of the items in the welfare list in welfare state, but in competitive state, higher education becomes one of the major tools to enhance national competitiveness. By virtue of literature analysis, the aim of this study is on one hand to explore the national transformation process; on the other hand to analyze the impact of these two types of states on higher education. Broadly speaking, these effects are manifested in two levels: 1. the government’s role in the field of higher education transforms from state-controlled to market-oriented; while the government’s higher education policies emphasize strategy instead of intervention. 2. For higher education institutions, the pursuit of academic excellence lies in enhancing the international competitiveness, and the position of higher education institutions has been changed from the maximization of the welfare to the emphasis on the entrepreneurship and profitability. However, the problem of social fairness and justice in this transitional process is still a challenging task, which both government and institutions of higher education need to face with.