Of the 50 best universities in the world, according to the Shanghai list and the Times Higher Education Supplement list, some 30 are American, six or seven are British, and only a handful are to be found in continental Europe. A half-dozen northern European countries can compete with the US when it comes to research and development spending and patents granted, but the south and east of Europe lag far behind.
最引人注目的是欧洲在高科技发展和创新背景下的衰落。从各个方面来讲，欧洲大部分地区看起来可怜的。根据上海名单和《泰晤士报高等教育增刊》的排名, 全球最好的50所大学中，约有30所在美国，6~7所在英国，只有少数是位于欧洲大陆。北欧六个国家可在研发支出和专利授予方面与美国比肩，而欧洲南部和东部则远远落后。