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Higher Education & Development
Master in HE, Class 2008HEM 4230: Internationalisation, Globalisation and the
Knowledge Economy
Rómulo PinheiroOslo, 18 October 2007
Topics being covered
• The types of contributions by HE
• The dominant developmental paradigms
• Empirical Evidence on the role of HE
• The importance of knowledge
• The role of international policy/donors
Types of HE contributions to Society
• Social: – Better quality of life and social harmony
• Cultural: – Sense of identity and access to cultural capital
• Political:– Empowerment of minority groups, democratisation
• Economic:– Improved standards of living, productivity, and
competitiveness
Economic imperatives at the forefront
• Investments in HE important to:– Societies:
• Economic Development & Growth (thus, social stability)
– Corporations: • Increased productivity/competitiveness
– Individuals: • Higher salaries, standard of living, career mobility, job
satisfaction
Knowledge as key driver
• Post-industrial (network-based) era puts a strong emphasis on value-added services and knowledge goods (Castels)
• Global competitiveness of countries/regions increasingly affected by their ability to: (a) create, (b) transmit; and (c) adapt knowledge to local cirdumstances
• Higher Education not longer seen as a ’luxury’ but a condition for development (World Bank 2002)
HE as Development Policy
• Many (governmental) stakeholders:– Too important to be left alone to Ministries of
Education (also, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Science & Technology, Commerce, etc.)
• Focusing on core functions: – (a) training and re-training; (b) knowledge creation; (c)
knowledge transfer and innovation
• National/Regional Development emerging as key function of HE systems (third revolution?)
Dominant Perspectives of the link HE & Development (Donor Policies)
Source: Cloete et al. (2005)
Vocational & TechnicalTraining
(Sachs 2005)
Engine of the new Knowledge Economy
(Castells 1991; World Bank 2002
Luxury Ancilliary (World Bank mid 80s-90s)
Current
Is there any empirical evidence?
• Human Capital Theory (Becker & Schultz, 1960s) have demonstrated that investments in Schooling (incl. HE) deliver higher economic returns for both individuals as well as societies (economies), thus representing positive socialinvestments.
Does knowledge lead to global competitiveness?
Bottom-10
Source: World Economic Forum (2006)
Knowledge economy index
Tertiary education enrollment
Knowledge Economy and Higher education
Links: Knowledge Economy, GDP & Globalisation
Rank Country
1 Ireland
2 Singapore
3 Switzerland
4 Netherlands
5 Finland
6 Canada
7 United States
8 New Zealand
9 Austria
10 Denmark
54 Kenya
55 Turkey
56 Bangladesh
57 China
58 Venezuela
59 Indonesia
60 Egypt
61 India
62 Iran
Knowledge Economy Index & GDP Globalisation Index
Globalisation index 2004(www.foreignpolicy.com)
What about broad social (human) development?
Bottom-15
Source: United Nations (2005)
National (regional) Examples of Knowledge Investments
• Europe: Finland and Ireland (mid 1990s)
• East Asia: South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong (1970s and 1980s)
• Oceania: Australia and New Zealand (1990s)
• More recently (China & India):– Investments in HE as a parallell, rather than a
consecutive process, to primary/secondary levels– Leap-frogging developmental stages (primary-
secondary-tertiary sectors)
Is that it, then?
Well…”investment in higher education per se is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for development as the oft-quoted World Bank examples of South Korea and Ghana illustrate (World Bank, 2002)…”
”As important as the investment made in higher education is, attention must be paid to the efficiency and effectiveness of that investment which includes ensuring that there are appropriate linkages with the labour market needs of the economy.” (Cloete et al. 2005: 9)
Where are FDIs flowing?(African Continent, as an example)
• Focus on Capacity Building– Physical Infrastructure– Training of teaching staff– Training of competent managers/administrators– Information & Communication Technologies– Libraries and other information resources– Research Networks (North-South, South-South)
• But, almost no investment in problem/situation accessment (HE studies or analyst training)
Recent Developments (Donors)
• Paradigm shift in donor policy– From dependency to internal competence and accountability.
• Funding directed to HE studies (CHET 2007)– Postgraduate programmes in HE (e.g. NOMA)– Research on the link HE-Development (across Africa)– Observatory (Monitoring)
• Research Output
• Development Aid
• Policy-relevant data (input)
• Knowledge utilisation
– Advocacy (Knowledge sharing/transmission)
What about (African) HEIs?
• Awareness of the need to become more entrepreneurial (Clark 1999, CHET 2002)
• Distinct role of different types of HEIs (comprehensive vs. Technical vs. Short-term/vocational vs, flag-ships)
• The importance of proper managerial/governance structures.• Existing constraints; system-level (W.Bank/Unesco 2000)
– Absence of a vision
– Lack of political/financial commitment
– Conditions of initial disadvantage (staff, facilities, ICT, etc.)
– Disruptions brought by globalisation (need to respond national/regional level)
Remaining Challenges (HE & Development, the example of S.Africa)
• Discourses: Shift from negative to positive mobilising discourse (improve self-image of HE)
• Skills Mismatch: Tight links; graduates and employment • Growth & Quality: Both are required!• Signals across the system: between different types of HEIs and
those and the labour market/economy.• Research & Innovation: Strategic long-term rather than solely
focus on immediate needs• Differentiated Policy: New relationships (pact) between HEIs-State
(based on bargaining and negotiations.• Co-ordination: Better orchestration between government and the
various agents at the system level.• Development Discourse: instrumental (skill-based) runs the risk of
neglecting knowledge-based one. Explore the links between issues like equity, restrcuturing and efficiency.
Source: CHET (2005b: 1-3)
To Conclude
• HE is intrinsically linked with socio-economic development
• Development paradigms have changed to acknowledge the role of ’knowledge’ and HEIs as engines of development
• International Policies (Donors) finally focusing on building capacity for problem identification
• Major regional barriers still remain (e.g. across Africa) but an active debate is ongoing!
Suggested Reading
• HE & Regional Development (OECD 2007)
http://www.oecd.org/document/33/0,3343,en_2649_34413_39378401_1_1_1_1,00.html
• CHET (2005b). HE and Development. Reflecting on the
challenges. http://www.chet.org.za/publications.jsp
• World Bank/Unesco. 2000. Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise. The Task force on Higher Education and Society. Online at:
http://www.tfhe.net/report/readreport.htm