From autumn 1998 to spring 2000, about 3,000 graduates each from nine countries in the European Union (Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), one EFTA country (Norway), one of the Central and Eastern European countries in transition (the Czech Republic) and one econo- cally advanced country outside Europe (Japan) provided information through a wr- ten questionnaire on the relationship between higher...