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This paper calls attention to challenges developing nations face as they seek to strengthen universities, and their ability to contribute to social and economic development. Two issues in particular are addressed in this chapter. First, developing nations face a monumental challenge in raising adequate funds for expanding the size, scope, and quality of their universities. Overcoming this… Read more
This paper reports on a preliminary study of literature relating to the evaluation of higher education (HE) interventions in low and middle income countries (LMICs), which have been made by national and international develop assistance programmes. It was prepared as a background paper for the March 2012 London conference, “Measuring the Impact of Higher Education Interventions… Read more
The rapid quantitative growth of higher education in Ethiopia has triggered considerable concern for quality. This paper analyses why expanding the higher education subsector took precedence over quality against the backdrop of the current Ethiopian political discourse. The article argues that the growing public demand due to globalization and the changed local realities, the ideology… Read more
Rwanda’s national development strategy relies heavily on expanding access to higher education, largely due to an assumption that a university education encourages the ability to think critically about problems and to use evidence when making decisions. This study empirically investigated this assumption by administering a performance-task-based test of critical thinking, adapted for use in Rwanda,… Read more
The purpose of this article is to discuss some financial aspects of the future development of higher education in Africa entering the 21st century. Two main aspects can be distinguished: first, problems that concern the economy as a whole, the macroeconomic problems; second, questions that apply to the individual institutions of higher education. The former… Read more
The paper provides a comprehensive review of the major obstacles that hinder the participation of girls and women in higher education in Kenya. This is on the basis that their low participation in this level of education is a key constraint to the development of the country. While it is reckoned that girls’ and women’s… Read more
Widening participation in higher education can be a force for democratisation. It can also map on to elite practices and contribute to further differentiation of social groups. Those with social capital are often able to decode and access new educational opportunities. Those without it can remain untouched by initiatives to facilitate their entry into the privileges that higher… Read more
This paper synthesizes and extends recent research on “The New Economics of the Brain Drain”. In a unified framework, the paper shows that while recently identified adverse repercussions of the brain drain exacerbate the long-recognized negative impact of the brain drain, longer-term consequences turn the brain drain into the harbinger of powerful gains. These gains… Read more
This report presents information about the benefits of Higher Education (HE) participation for the individual and society. The core of the report is a table showing a two-way taxonomy of benefits, with individual/society as one dimension and market/non-market (or wider) benefits as the other. The report covers only benefits from HE participation, so that benefits… Read more
Education externalities are social or public benefits from the education of each individual that benefit others in the society in both current and future generations. Titled Social and External Benefits of Education, chapter 6 of the publication, International Handbook on the Economics of Education, explores the non-market private or the non- market externality benefits of education that… Read more
The government of Nigeria initiated higher education policy reforms intended to bring its university system more in line with international good practices. The reforms promote increased institutional autonomy, greater system differentiation, strengthened governance, and mechanisms for quality assurance. They seek to create a more flexible and responsive system of university teaching and research that, over… Read more