| Chapter 2: | Poverty and the Knowledge Economy |
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emphasis on one at the expense of the other has weakened development by mistakenly framing them as mutually exclusive goals.
Although higher education provides expertise to all sectors of society and the economy, the UN report focuses on science and technology:
Once development agencies and the donor community make the commitment to fund higher education, there are specific ways in which a healthy university system can promote economic growth and reduce poverty. For example, universities can assist in the growth of business and industrial firms and contribute to economic revival and high-tech development in their surrounding regions; connections with business and industry should not be limited to the model in which everything of value is quantified as a private good. As outlined by Slaughter and Rhoades (2004), there is a fine line in technology transfer between public research and private, profitable knowledge. In order for technology in developing countries to become useful, however, it must transfer to industry outside the university. Knowledge should be considered a public good, as former World Bank chief economist Stiglitz argued (1999). Universities can also promote growth by conducting research and development (R&D) for industry in the public sector. In the West, initiatives of this type may be referred to as academic capitalism, in which the academy is seen as a potential medium to generate income through new circuits of knowledge (Slaughter and Rhoades 2004). The UN task force argued that in developing countries, universities should engage in these academic ventures—initiatives that promote societal benefits and “ensure that students study the relationships between science, technology, innovation, and development, so that they are sensitive to societal needs” (UNMPTF 2005, 93).