This World Bank report describes the role higher education plays in building developing countries' capacity to participate in a knowledge-based world economy and outlines policy options to promote economic development. It confirms the shift in the World Bank's attitude to education support as a driver of socioeconomic growth.

The authors ask why higher education is important for development, how developing countries can best utilise their higher education systems, and how the World Bank and other donors can support local governments. They argue that knowledge is essential for development — and higher education is essential to create and apply knowledge.

They conclude that developing countries risk marginalisation because of their weak higher education systems, and stress the need for government and donor support.

This World Bank report examines higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa, asking how it can stimulate economic growth in the region. Drawing on international experience and regional case studies, the authors argue that there is an urgent need for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to invest in human capital and knowledge — and therefore higher education — to create a viable and growth-promoting industrial system, and cope with threats such as disease, population growth and climate change.

They discuss how and why human capital investment can lead to socioeconomic growth and review current practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors propose a number of good practices to help countries in the region strengthen their higher education systems quickly and effectively.

Recommendations include developing a national strategy for developing human resources, reforming funding mechanisms for higher education, giving institutions decision-making powers, encouraging diversity and developing postgraduate programs to boost local research capacity.

The Task Force on Higher Education and Society was convened by the World Bank and UNESCO, bringing together experts from 13 countries to explore the future of higher education in the developing world. The Task Force's report concluded that without more and better higher education, developing countries will find it increasingly difficult to benefit from the global knowledge-based economy.

Chapter 5 — which deals with science and technology — says that higher education an absolute and irreducible prerequisite to developing a strong science and technology base, but that the lack of well-qualified science and technology teachers and researchers is a widespread problem in developing countries, particularly in Africa with its very small base of individuals who can create a science-oriented culture.

The report notes that as developing countries having so few scientists, the impact of migration can be enormous and that it is compounded by the so-called "camp-follower" phenomenon. It concludes that it is vital to the future of developing countries that they turn to the task of systematically nurturing — and retaining — their science and technology talent.