Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa: Introduction and Overview

There is little disagreement amongst development economists that investments in human capital—specifically education and health—are crucial for social and economic development of nations. It is widely accepted that nations cannot raise the quality of life of their citizens without substantial and consistent investments in human capital. Many earlier studies that investigated the returns to education found that the returns to primary education were much higher than to other levels of education. Recent studies have, however, shown that higher levels of education associate with much higher private and social returns as compared to primary education. Meanwhile, available data suggest that Africa is lagging behind other developing regions in the areas of higher education, with abysmally low tertiary enrolment rate; and low access to information and knowledge as evidenced by very low personal computer coverage, internet usage, scientific and technical journals published, royalties and licences received and patent applications by residents. The neglect of tertiary education in Africa has impacted on other dimensions of human development. For example, to provide quality primary and secondary education, it is necessary that institutions of higher learning produce well-trained teachers and in sufficient quantities. Likewise, qualified nurses and medical personnel are required to provide even basic health care. But these professionals are in short supply in Africa such that it is not possible to provide quality of education and basic health care to most of the population. For Africa to achieve and sustain high rates of growth, it is necessary for major transformations in the structure of production as well as a reduced technological gap to take place and these require a large pool of labour force with tertiary education. In order to support evidence-based policies to redress the situation, the May 2010 Plenary Session hosted by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) analysed the interactions between higher education and economic development in Africa and elsewhere, reviewed models and methods normally used in estimating returns to higher education and examined options for financing higher education in contemporary Africa. Copyright 2011 , Oxford University Press.