Higher Education and Global Poverty: University Partnerships and the World Bank in Developing Countries
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Higher Education and Global Poverty: University Partnerships and ...

Chapter 2:  Poverty and the Knowledge Economy
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might be further marginalized if their people do not have the opportunity to create knowledge through university education, the 2002 report departs from the World Bank's previous position that higher education does not provide a good return on a country's investment. This shift reflects a growing consensus that university education has a crucial role to play in the development of a knowledge economy. The World Bank emphasized expanding a country's capacity for participation in an “increasingly knowledge-based world economy” (World Bank 2002, 2). The report also seeks to address the mounting criticism of the financial institution's policies toward higher or tertiary education:

There is a perception that the [World] Bank has not been fully responsive to the growing demand for tertiary education interventions by clients and that lending for the subsector has not matched the growing importance of tertiary education for economic and social development, especially in the poorest developing countries. It thus became necessary to revisit the [World] Bank's policies and experience regarding tertiary education in light of the changes in the world environment and the persistence of the traditional problems of tertiary education in developing and transition countries. (World Bank 2002, 2)

Although casting potential policy errors as “perceptions” of clients seems a somewhat calculated rhetorical move, the World Bank nonetheless appeared ready to direct greater attention—and more importantly, increased funds—to higher education in the developing world.

A 2005 report by the United Nations Millennium Project Task Force (UNMPTF) entitled Innovation: Applying Knowledge in Development is the most pointed work to date linking higher education to development and poverty reduction. The report highlights the fact that science, technology, and ingenuity have helped lessen poverty and hunger and have promoted economic growth in regions such as south and east Asia. In addition, the report underscores the idea that the donor community, until recently, has overemphasized primary and secondary schooling. The current state of affairs highlights the difficulty of achieving universal primary education in the absence of higher-education training, and the