| Chapter 2: | Poverty and the Knowledge Economy |
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economy is seen as increasingly important by national governments and development agencies alike. A progression of significant studies from various agencies has shown that university science and technology research is a major contributor to the knowledge economy, and in turn, to poverty reduction. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a membership-based group that collects information and produces research to help countries foster prosperity and fight poverty. The thirty member countries are predominantly representative of the wealthiest countries in the world; in order to be a member, a country must have a democratic government, an open market (and commitment to liberalizing trade), and demonstrable respect for human rights. The OECD report, The Knowledge-Based Economy, opens with this statement:
The report is divided into three sections, one of which is devoted to the role of the science system in the knowledge-based economy; this system is identified as a network of public research laboratories and institutions of higher education—both of which are seen as key components of the knowledge economy.
Whereas the OECD is composed of developed countries, the World Bank is composed of 185 countries from around the globe, some more developed than others. The World Bank's goal is to reduce global poverty, and the organization published a major report in 2002 entitled Constructing Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for Tertiary Education. This report describes how universities can increase a country's research capacity and its ability to participate in the global knowledge-based economy as well as the potential of higher education to enhance economic growth and reduce poverty. Observing that developing countries