Many governments in Asia have granted greater autonomy to institutions of higher education in recent decades. It was expected that this autonomy would lead to new governance structures and enhance the operational efficiency of institutions. Has autonomy led to improved efficiency at the institutional level and overall effectiveness at the system level? This was the central question addressed by the IIEP research studies included in this volume. Based on studies in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, and Viet Nam, the book shows that autonomy has made institutions more independent, exercising freedom to prepare plans, appoint staff, mobilize resources, introduce new study programmes, establish new structures of governance, and introduce substantial changes in the academic and administrative decision-making process. However, autonomy also injected an element of financial uncertainty, due to the smaller role of the state in the management of institutions, and resulted in the reduced authority and collective bargaining power of the professoriate in the institutional decision-making process.