Public policies in France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are compared with regard to quantitative developments in higher education. The analysis is focused on the issue of private versus social demand, but more detailed aspects of quantitative planning also are addressed. The following question is discussed: why Sweden adopted a system of quantitative planning in higher education that included a system-wide "numerus clausus" largely based on social demand, while France and the United Kingdom continued to rely mainly on private demand? Five possible determinants are examined: financial resources, national planning traditions, "issue webs," policy inheritances, and specific policy processes. The effectiveness of the governments in predicting and meeting private demand is analyzed, and the record in areas where manpower planning has been attempted is examined. (SW)