An investigation into the relationship between tertiary

education and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa:

Developing a knowledge-based economy.

Oliver Patrick Newman

A thesis submitted to Birkbeck in accordance with the requirements of the

degree

M.Sc. International Development and Social Anthropology

1st October 2018

The work presented in this dissertation was carried out in the Department of Geography,

Birkbeck, University of London and is entirely my own except where other authors have been

referred to and acknowledged in the text. It has not previously been submitted for a degree in

this or any other university. The views expressed in this dissertation are my own, and not those

of the University.
1
Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5

Literature Review……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………9

Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………20

Findings and Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….29

Policy Issues for Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………45

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….58

Bibliography. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..59

Figures

Figure 1: Average yearly gross tertiary enrolment ratio vs. average yearly growth in GDP per

capita for years 2000-2015 for sub-Saharan Africa.

Figure 2: Average yearly gross enrolment ratio from 2000-2015 vs. Internet Adoption in 2015

for sub-Saharan Africa.

Figure 3: Average yearly growth in GDP per capita vs. average number of years of tertiary

education 1990-2010 for sub-Saharan Africa.

Figure 4: Average percentage increase in years of tertiary level schooling for years 1990-2010

vs Internet Adoption in 2010 for sub-Saharan Africa.

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Tables

Table 1: Effect of teritary education on subsequent economic growth across sub-Saharan

African countries, 2000-2015.

Table 2: Effect of teritary education on subsequent internet penetration across sub-Saharan

African countries, 2000-2015.

List of Abbreviations

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

ICT – Information and Communication Technology

IMF – International Monetary Fund

OEDC – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OLS – Ordinary Least Squares

TE – Tertiary Education

UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

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Abstract

This study investigates the effects of tertiary education (TE) on economic growth in sub-

Saharan Africa to support the hypothesis that TE produces the human capital required for

sustained economic growth within the context of a knowledge-based economy. The study also

hypothesises that TE produces the human capital needed to innovate and adopt foreign

technological advancements. Using regression analysis, this study explores the statistical

correlation between indicators of TE and human capital and their relationship to economic

growth and the emerging knowledge economy in sub-Saharan Africa. The results of the

regressions reveal a strong positive correlation between TE enrolments and the knowledge

economy, however, a negligible relationship between TE and economic growth is also found.

The study uses these findings to discuss some areas of key issues faced by policymakers seeking

to expand TE for the development of a knowledge-based society.

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Introduction

Background

Knowledge is perhaps the most critical driver of economic development in the modern era and

is central to a country’s competitive advantage within an increasingly globalised economy.

Innovations in information and communication technologies (ICTs), their diminishing costs and

widespread adoption of improved telecommunication infrastructure have resulted in a

reliance on knowledge accumulation and production as major forces for economic

development. Coined the ‘knowledge economy’, the concept recognises the importance of

knowledge dissemination as well as the skills and information embodied within the labour

force, as components of economic growth (OEDC, 1996). The increasing importance of

knowledge has also fuelled demand across the globe for highly skilled workers and has forced

developing countries to adapt to this global trend by improving the intellectual capacities of

workers for competitive advantage. Understanding the contribution of knowledge producing

institutions and the mechanisms by which knowledge is shared, is therefore critical for future

national development strategies.

Since the millennium, sub-Saharan Africa has experienced a period of sustained economic

growth (World Bank, 2018). Historically speaking however, the region has been characterised

by conflict, oppressive external debt and economic negligence resulting in two decades of

stagnation prior to the turn of the century. Nevertheless, according to a study carried out by

the Pew Research Centre there is a renewed sense of optimism, for sub-Saharan African

people are happier with the state of their economy than others around the world (Wike and

Simmons, 2015). In fact, it was found in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa that younger

generations believed they could be optimistic about growth in the next 12 months and that

5
the next generation would be better off (Ibid, 2015). Despite a recent deacceleration, this

sentiment is reflected by growth forecasts for the region that suggest given the right

combination of factors, sub-Saharan Africa can restart the engine that contributed to its recent

remarkable period of growth (IMF, 2017).

The growing importance of knowledge to economic development has also been indicated by

the astonishing rise in internet adoption across the region. At the turn of the century, 0.5 per

cent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa were using the internet, however by 2016 this

figure increased to 19.9 per cent (World Bank, 2018). By comparison, internet usage in

advanced knowledge-based economies such as those found in the OEDC, was estimated at

78.7 per cent of the population (World Bank, 2018). ICTs such as the internet are key to

knowledge dissemination and in the modern era are the primary medium through which

information is shared and transmitted to wider audiences.

Likewise, sub-Saharan Africa has seen participation in TE expand rapidly over the last half-

century, for example since the 1970s student enrolments have multiplied from around 200,000

to roughly ten million today (World Bank, 2018). For many years, both donors and

policymakers have seen most socio-economic value in mass primary and secondary education,

meaning the role of TE as a means to foster economic growth and reduce poverty within

developing countries has been somewhat overlooked (Bloom et al., 2006). More recently,

interest has been refocussed on the purpose and structure of TE systems as a force for

economic development, in light of increasing reliance on knowledge accumulation and

information production by advanced economies. Despite TE’s growth, enrolment rates across

sub-Saharan Africa remain lowest in the world with only an average of 6 per cent of the

population enrolled in TE at one time (UNESCO, 2009). Yet, the region is far from short on

prospective students, as Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest youth population in the world and

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some of the fastest growing economies, meaning that demand for education is likely to grow

exponentially over the coming years (World bank, 2018). This suggests the region has

enormous growth potential, therefore making an examination of potentially contributing

institutions and systems essential.

Considering the recent period of economic growth, expansion of TE and the increased

importance of knowledge accumulation and production, this study seeks to understand the

degree to which these occurrences might be linked. It seems that TE has a central role to play

in the future economic prosperity of sub-Saharan Africa as global economies increasingly rely

on their stock of knowledge, capacity for innovation, the productivity of its innovators and

their access to quality technological know-how for economic growth. This study therefore

seeks to understand link between knowledge and economic growth by paying special attention

to the role of TE in sub-Saharan Africa in developing a knowledge-based economy.

Purpose of study

The main research question in this thesis has therefore been formulated as:

To what extent does TE impact on economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa?

There are several other avenues of inquiry to explore which are linked to the main research

question.

1. Does TE contribute to economic growth?

2. How does TE contribute to the development of a knowledge-based economy?

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 3. How much does TE matter over and above the initial level of development for

economic growth and the emerging knowledge economy through the adoption of

modern ICT?

The global shift to knowledge-based economies presents both challenges and opportunities for

the region and therefore policy implications and potential areas of future research are also of

both great interest and importance to the discussion.

Outline of chapters

The study will first undertake a review of the literature to outline the relevant theoretical and

empirical studies on the subject. The literature review will also help to provide some context to

the research questions whilst summarising the most pertinent arguments and empirical

findings. The third chapter will present the methodology utilised by this study to investigate

the research questions posed in the introductory chapter, before presenting the findings and

analysis of the regression analysis in Chapter 4. Based on the findings, Chapter 5 then presents

some policy issues for discussion in relation to the expansion of TE in sub-Saharan Africa and

some potential avenues for further research. The study concludes with a final chapter

summarising the discussion.

8
Literature Review

The Knowledge Economy

The concept of the knowledge economy underpins the research questions formulated in the

introduction. It is a concept that has been primarily developed as an explanation for the

transformation of industrial production-based economies to economies which depend on

knowledge intensive activities to operate (Bell, 1973). One of the first investigations into the

function of knowledge in the wider economy was Machlup (1962) who initially theorised that

the ‘knowledge economy’ could account for 29 per cent of Gross National Product (GNP) in the

United States of America in 1958. Machlup’s (Ibid.) attempt at defining and measuring the

distribution of knowledge rather than its production alone resulted in a body of literature

seeking to expand on this. The concept was further developed by Drucker (1959) who argued

that knowledge workers and their productivity would be key to growth in the 21st century.

Drucker believed that the defining characteristic of the ‘knowledge worker’ was their level of

formalised education. He argues that higher formalised education would enable individuals to

add value to economy through the skills they had developed, and the information they knew.

A range of discourses have been developed on the subject, such as Porat (1977) and Masuda’s

(1981) theoretical work, where the concept is reframed as the ‘information society’ to account

for the rising use of ICTs for economic, social and cultural development. Present discourse on

the knowledge-economy heavily derives from this area of the literature, most notably

presented by Castells (1996) who concentrates on the social implications of the ‘network

society’ in which ICTs help to form and sustain global interconnectivity.

More recently, the theoretical concept of the knowledge economy has been contextualised by

a number of major reports on knowledge-based economies in relation to developing countries

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as part of a wider policy discourse. For example, the OEDC’s report, the Knowledge-Based

Economy, recognises the importance of knowledge and technology for economic growth by

concentrating on the role of science systems in producing and disseminating knowledge, whilst

also developing a framework of indicators for knowledge-based economies (1996). This

framework is further developed by a series of World Bank reports which investigate the role of

knowledge in country development strategies. For example, the Knowledge for Development

(1998) report examines the ways in which knowledge could be utilised by developing

economies to decrease the income gap with advanced service-based economies based on the

claim that a knowledge-gap exists between developing and technologically advanced

countries. The report also suggests that developing countries must look further than universal

basic education for economic prosperity and argues that a workforce highly educated in

mathematics, the sciences and engineering can significantly contribute to economic growth

(1998:43).

A subsequent report, Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise (2002a)

argues that widespread production and distribution of knowledge is a principal factor in

development and is also critical for economic growth and improvement in living standards. The

report (Ibid.) posits that TE is one of the most important components in constructing a

knowledge society. It argues that TE institutions are the principal means by which knowledge is

produced, disseminated and transmitted to the wider society. This argument is again

supported by the World Bank (2002b) in a report that begins to highlight the wider challenges

faced by developing countries in transitioning to a knowledge-based economy and the role

that TE can play.

10
Human Capital and Economic Growth

Human capital theory is perhaps the most relevant paradigm to knowledge-based economies

and prevails as a dominant theme throughout the wider body of literature on the economics of

TE. In the first half of the 20th century, academic work on the subject appeared somewhat

periodically and the concept of human capital was not present in any serious economic

discussion until the late 1950s. Firstly, Walsh (1935) and later Mincer (1958) reframe capital

investment into skills, knowledge, training and experience as investments in ‘human capital’.

Both authors argue this investment provides future monetary returns through increases in

individual productivity, wages and market-value. Walsh (ibid.) in particular argues that a higher

level of vocational education results in higher associated returns, demonstrated by individual

wage increases.

Concerning economic growth, Solow’s (1956) seminal work examines labour and capital as

functions of production and argues that GDP growth per capita is a function of labour input

and per capita capital investment. The work was instrumental in developing neoclassical

theories of economic growth whereby sustained capital investment temporarily increases

growth rates which then recede to a steady-state growth path given correct conditions of

labour, capital and technology. However, Solow’s neoclassical growth model excludes human

capital accumulation, otherwise known as the knowledge and skills embodied within the

labour force, in its estimation of growth functions. A crucial contribution was then made by,

Schultz (1960) whose work reassesses the role of education as ‘an investment in man’, which

he terms ‘human capital’. Reframing education in this way quickly helped to reshape

economist’s views on economic growth and productivity in relation to human capital.

Other attempts to explain economic growth through growth accounting puts further emphasis

on the role of human capital. For example, Griliches (1960;1963) and Denison’s (1962)

11
research agenda focussed on the significance of education to growth and incorporated human

capital accumulation into their estimations. Both produced approximations of growth which

were subject to changes in the quality of labour by analysing data on educational attainment

and mean income by education. However, perhaps the most significant contribution on

conceptualising human capital can be attributed to Becker (1962) who argues that the

accumulation of human capital through education and training investment positively affects

individual wage growth, productivity and the national economy. Though Becker (Ibid)

maintains that humans cannot be separated from their own knowledge and skills in the way

that they can be from physical capital, education and training should still be regarded as

human capital investment. Viewing the knowledge embodied within the labour force as a

function of productivity helped the concept gain much traction with economists who sought to

develop Solow’s original thinking. This directly led to the Mankiw, Romer and Weil (1992)

augmented production function which includes the accumulation of human capital alongside

physical capital as inputs at a macroeconomic level. In terms of productivity functions, Mankiw

(1995) sees knowledge as the summation of all technological and scientific discoveries. Human

capital is the transmission of those advancements into human output and comprehension

(Ibid, 1995). These standard and later augmented neoclassical growth frameworks estimate

that human capital directly relates to productive output per capita. Similarly, sustained growth

cannot be predicted due to diminishing returns to human and physical capital.

In contrast to neoclassical growth modelling, human capital is introduced by Romer (1986) to

his model of increasing returns and long-run growth. Later, Romer (1990) further develops the

growth model by treating technological change as internal to productivity, through research

and development activities and investment. One key point to understand from Romer’s work is

the shift away from earlier assumptions of diminishing returns and that technical change is

endogenous to economic growth which is driven in particular, by the accumulation of

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knowledge. In these models, human capital accumulation provides constant returns to the

remaining stock of human capital.

Similarly, Lucas (1988) presents an endogenous growth model which estimates productivity as

a function of human capital, capital, labour and total labour time spent working. The model

explains economic growth as directly related to human capital accumulation through

schooling. Later growth models also view human capital as fundamental to productivity such

as the Galor-Weil (Galor and Weil, 2000 and Galor, 2011) endogenous model whereby

technological change increases due to the knowledge embodied within a growing and more

dense population as a consequence of increased education.

Empirical Studies

There is a relatively small body of empirical literature that specifically investigates the

association between TE and economic growth and the findings are varied. For example, using

growth models, Landau (1983, 1986), Baumol et al. (1989) and Barro (1991) find a statistically

significant relationship between economic growth and human capital. Likewise, Barro and

Sala-i-Martin (1995) find that both secondary and tertiary level education have positive growth

effects in their cross-sectional study and observe that an increase in TE of 0.09 years raises

annual GDP growth by 0.5 percent. What may point to methodological error or data quality is

that female variables were found to be negatively correlated. In a study of education and

productivity in the United Kingdom, Jenkins (1995) finds through time series analysis that as TE

qualifications increased by 1 percentage, total factor productivity output also grew from 0.42

to 0.63 percent. Another strand of this literature suggests that returns to tertiary schooling are

associated with the level of that country’s current development. For example, Keller (2006)

13
and Self and Grabowski (2004) find that TE is related to growth but only within more

developed countries. In a rather ambitious study, Gyimah-Brempong et al. (2006) find using

panel data that the expansion of TE on the African continent will have a significant effect on

increasing growth of income per-capita therefore stressing its importance not only to

advanced economies but to developing economies too. In another panel data model, Wang

and Liu (2016) subdivide data on human capital for 55 countries and regions by education level

to conclude that human capital has significant positive impact on economic growth and

moreover, that higher education is most significant.

Elaborating on Mankiw, Romer and Weil’s (1992) work, there have been numerous studies

which develop the broadened neoclassical growth model further for empirical testing. For

example, Lichtenberg (1992) utilises an augmented Solow model to include human capital,

physical capital, as well as research and development output to conclude that the positive

effect of investment into human capital on productivity is large. Similarly, In Lin’s (2004) study

of higher education in Taiwan, it was found that a 1 percent increase in those who had

completed TE resulted in 0.35 per cent rise in industrial productivity. Equally, a 1 percent

increase in engineering or natural science graduates led to a 0.15 percent increase in

agricultural productivity (Ibid.). Vasuveda and Chien (1997) develop an augmented Solow

model with some success by including primary, secondary and TE enrolment rates and find

that human capital is significant to economic growth in OEDC countries.

Innovation and research and development activities are both common themes through the

literature and relate to the endogenous growth models previously described. For example,

Aghion and Howitt’s (1992) development of Schumpter’s (1942) conceptual piece on creative

destruction characterises the competitive nature behind innovation through the destruction

and replacement of old processes or physical infrastructure with more productive methods

14
and/or machinery. In other areas, the literature on human capital suggests that research and

development activities contribute to the production of knowledge and is of key importance to

building the innovative capacities of the labour force. Zeng (2001) develops a growth model to

understand the role of innovation and technological imitation in economic growth through

multi-sector analysis. The model suggests that innovation enhances economic growth whereas

imitation of new technology moves growth in the opposite direction. In Chou’s (2002) analysis,

data from 1960-2000 is used to show that economic growth is the result of local and global

research and development activities, in fact continued economic growth can be attributed to

the efficiency of transferring inputs to output activities. Also, Sterlacchini (2008) uses regional

data from 12 European countries from 1995-2002 to evidence the positive impact of

knowledge, educational attainment and the intensity of research and development

expenditure on the economic growth of some European regions. Research and development

activities are a key function of universities and can foster technical innovation which theorists

argue that within knowledge economies is the crucial driver of economic growth. Similarly, in

relation to TE, Lucas (2008) argues that the more educated an individual is, the more likely

they are to innovate and increase productivity at a national level. Comparably, Lederman and

Maloney (2003) draw on global panel data sets on innovation and find that the rate of return

on research and development activities was 78 per cent using cross-country regression

analysis. Importantly, the research finds that returns to research and development activities

was higher in developing countries and natural resource abundant countries.

Others argue that technical knowledge and technological innovation are key components of a

country’s export potential, should the country have the appropriate capabilities to capitalise

on this. Kruss et al. (2015) use case studies from astronomy and automotive courses in South

African universities to discuss the implications of technological capabilities on economic

development and the importance of the role of TE institutions in building the skills and
15
capacity to innovate. The authors challenge policy-makers to rethink the contribution TE can

make to development within a network of actors and their interactive capabilities.

Another argument which appears throughout some areas of the literature proposes that

education enables the labour force to adapt to new technological advances. Easier access to

technology allows for improved production techniques, competitiveness in the global market

and economic growth. Gerschenkron (1962) for example argues that country differences

between per capita income could be attributed to their ability to innovate and adapt to

innovations elsewhere. Similarly, Easterlin (1981) sees schooling as a fundamental driver of

economic growth and argues that the lag in mass primary education within some countries is

attributable to slow economic growth due to the limit on diffusion of technology. Though this

may be true, Fagerberg (1994) emphasises the fact that transferal of technological advances

across borders is not easy and is indeed a rather costly exercise. Vandenbussche et al.’s (2006)

interesting study finds that human capital has a stronger growth-enhancing effect in

economies that are close to the technological frontier using endogenous growth theory. Fu et

al. (2011) explore the technology gap between Northern and Southern countries and conclude

that international technology diffusion is only beneficial when coupled with concurrent in-

country innovation efforts because Northern technology is unsuitable for developing

countries. In Kim and Nelson’s (2000) excellent comparative study of East Asia, the authors

provide an overview of how the area progressed from imitation in the 1960s to innovation in

the 1990s therefore arguing components such as education and entrepreneurship play a

significant role in economic growth due to technological assimilation.

Contrarily, there is a large body of literature which finds the relationship between human

capital, TE and economic growth inconclusive, leading to a number of potential explanations.

For example, some argue that TE institutions do not develop human capital at all and are just

16
filtering organisations that screen individuals based on their potential to become productive

employees. In particular, Pencavel (1993) suggests that these institutions develop soft skills

such as confidence and punctuality which enable them to become more productive

employees. Furthermore, Solman and Fagnano (1993) argue that non-vocational degrees

provide screening against personal characteristics that might indicate employee productivity.

On the other hand, Hall and Jones (1998) suggest that social infrastructure, that is the make-up

of systems and government policy has far greater explanatory power than educational

attainment and physical capital on the productivity of individual workers. Mattoon (2006)

maintains that TE institutions seek to enhance their own academic rankings and commercial

gain rather than to expand access to TE with a view to encouraging economic growth. Both

Mattoon (2006) and Sterlacchini (2008) also suggest that in general the government, business

and TE are not sufficiently interlinked in order to successfully foster economic growth as is

suggested elsewhere in the literature.

Other research suggests that there is no relationship between TE institutions and economic

growth therefore human capital has no insignificant impact. For example, Benhabib and

Speigel (1994) draw on their analysis to conclude that education in general has no direct effect

on economic growth, rather, economic growth is affected indirectly through technical

progress. Pritchett (1996) is also sceptical about the contribution of human capital to growth

and goes as far to suggest that investment in education bears no relationship to economic

development through output per worker. Hamilton and Monteagudo’s (1998) study also finds

that indicators for education are insignificant when differences in growth rates are analysed

across time. In other research, Hanushek (2016) finds that increasing years of schooling, which

is often employed as a proxy for human capital, has historically had little systematic influence

on economic growth, and indeed cognitive skills or ‘knowledge capital’ is a much more

significant indicator. Kreugar and Lindhal’s (2001) evidence from cross-country regressions
17
suggest the relationship at a macroeconomic level is ‘fragile’ and in fact they find it difficult to

certify that human capital has a promoting effect on productivity of the labour force. Similarly,

Holmes (2013) empirically tests the link between TE and economic growth and finds a gap

between applied approaches and their theoretical underpinnings therefore pointing again to

methodological oversight. The research also fails to evidence a strong correlation or any causal

relationship between the TE sector on economic growth. In a more general study, Bils and

Klenow (2000) develop Mincer’s return on schooling work (1974) to estimate the impact on

schooling on growth and find that less than one-third of the relationship can be empirically

explained.

Another strand of the literature argues that while TE does have growth promoting

characteristics, primary or secondary schooling is by comparison a more important driver of

economic growth, at least in less developed countries. For example, Petrakis and Stamatkis

(2002) find using cross-country data analysis that primary and secondary education is more

important to economic performance in less developed countries, while economic growth in

OEDC economies is more dependent on higher education. Psacharopoulos and Patrinos (2004)

find a causal relationship between educational quality and economic growth, though the

authors demonstrate that returns at primary level are greater than at secondary or tertiary. Liu

and Armer (1993) also find that college education (and senior-high) had no significant effect on

economic growth in Taiwan whereas primary and junior-high showed to have positive effects.

Barro and Lee (1994) also conclude that the number of years of male secondary schooling is

statistically significant to economic growth, however enrolment rates to universities are not.

18
Conclusion

Underpinned by the concept of the knowledge-society and human capital theory, higher

education and its relation to economic growth has been explored to great extent within the

literature where growth accounting models and growth regression analyses are the

predominant methods used. Broadly speaking, research is conflicting in this area and results

seem to be heavily reliant on research design or chosen human capital indicators. This results

in a body of literature which on one hand suggests that higher education promotes economic

growth, whereas on the other it finds little or no effect at tertiary level. Many researchers find

that using cross-country datasets allows for broader conclusions, however others look at

country level data which potentially decreases risk of inadequate data quality. Whilst there is a

clear theoretical premise to explain the relevance of TE to economic growth, difficulties arise

in empirically testing this.

Though the empirical and theoretical work on the subject does consider a broad array of

countries and variables, there is a clear lack of research into sub-Saharan Africa. This is

surprising given both the context of its economic growth since the turn of the century as well

as the increased interest in TE as a driver of development. This study therefore contributes to

the body of literature by providing new evidence on the link between TE through cross-country

growth regressions by focussing on how TE supports economic growth. Moreover, the study

concentrates on sub-Saharan Africa, which has been largely disregarded by the previous

literature which has probably been because of data unavailability. The final contribution of this

study to the body of literature is the discussion of the major policy challenges and issues faced

by the continent with regards to TE.

19
Methodology

This chapter provides an outline of the research methodology utilised to investigate the link

between TE and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. It will develop a hypothesis in

relationship to the main research question and discuss the research design followed to answer

the sub-research questions. The chapter also describes how data was collected for the

variables, processes of data analysis and ethical issues that arose during the research.

Hypothesis Development

Deriving from the literature review, it is this dissertation’s contention that economic growth

strongly corresponds to economic growth in three ways. Firstly, that TE produces the human

capital required for growth within a globalised knowledge economy. Secondly is that TE

institutions serve as sites of knowledge production and through channels such as research and

development activities and human capital formation, the wider economy benefits from

innovation and development of new technologies. Thirdly is that TE increases the absorptive

capacity of the labour force by imparting the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary to

adopt, imitate and implement frontier technologies. This study will develop a set of proxies for

economic growth, the knowledge economy and human capital formation before utilising

bivariate and multivariate regression analysis to develop an understanding of their

relationship.

20
Epistemology

All research is underpinned by a philosophical position which dictates the assumptions the

study makes, the research techniques used and the standards by which the research should be

judged. This philosophical framework, and its related methodology therefore determine what

should be regarded as valuable and legitimate knowledge (Williams and May, 1996).

Therefore, it is important for any social inquiry to understand the knowledge claims that are

being made, the strategies of inquiry and the methods of data collection utilised to illicit claims

about the nature of the social world (Creswell, 2003). To investigate the extent to which TE is

linked to economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, this study derives from a positivist empiricist

perspective. This holds that reality can be measured through empirical observation and

measurement in order to either infer provisional support for a hypothesis or disprove the

underpinning theory. This will enable the study to make a general claim in relation to the

research questions posed.

In the context of this study, four assumptions were made. Firstly is that the relationship

between TE and economic growth can be observed and measured; secondly, that acquiring

knowledge about TE and economic growth is an objective process and the resulting knowledge

can be reliably understood as representative of that reality; thirdly, the relationship between

TE and economic growth is valuable to understand, has important implications and is not

reliably or easily understood through subjective data collection; finally, statistical analysis

through regression modelling will act as an objective means by which valid knowledge can be

produced.

21
Approach

This study chose to employ a causal research design using secondary data sets to empirically

investigate the relationship between tertiary level education participation, attainment and

economic growth. In order to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses outlined

in the introduction, bivariate and multivariate regression analysis on the dependent and

independent variables was undertaken. The data was collected using the freely available

World Bank ‘DataBank’ and processed through the Excel package of Microsoft Office using the

in-built linear regression function.

Data Analysis

Central to this study is the investigation of the relationship between TE and economic growth

in sub-Sahara Africa. Regression analysis was therefore chosen as the most appropriate

analytical methodology due to its ability to describe and quantify the relationship between

variables to allow statistical inference outside of the specific sample (Ron, 2002). This study

does not seek to understand which independent variable the best predicator of economic

growth is, rather it seeks to understand the relationship between indicators of human capital

and economic growth and how this relates to the construction of a knowledge society. This will

enable this study to establish whether there is an association between the variable and thus

derive potential explanations from the findings.

A regression analysis was used to investigate the overall strength of the relationship between

tertiary level education and economic growth by quantifying the relationship between two

continuous variables and formulating an algebraic equation for a straight line of the form

(1) 𝑦 = 𝛼 + 𝛽𝑥 + 𝜀
22
The regression analysis involves estimating the values of the gradient (𝛽), or how much 𝑦

changes for each unit change in the value of 𝑥. The value of the intercept (𝛼) denotes the

value of 𝑦 when 𝑥 = 0 and 𝜀 is the error component of the prediction. This regression

equation is useful for predicting unknown values of the independent variable where values of

the dependent variables are known and quantifying the relationship between these variables.

In order to compute the regression equation for specified variables, the values from the data

were plotted onto a scatter graph and the best fitting straight line drawn through the points

using the ordinary least squares (OLS) approach. This approach accounts for two issues in the

data, the first being that the relationship between the two variables may not be absolutely

linear, only relatively linear and secondly is error in data collection or random variance in the

observations (Bingham and Fry, 2010). Both these issues require a standardised mathematical

procedure to estimate what is meant by ‘best fitting line’. This should be understood as the

line which minimises the sum of the squared residuals where a residual is the difference

between an observed dependent value and one predicted from the regression equation.

Once the basic relationships between the variables had been found, the study then developed

multivariate models to understand the impact of TE on economic growth and the emerging

knowledge economy over and above initial levels of development. Baseline data was gathered

for GDP growth per capita and internet adoption for the first year in each of the sample

periods.

Variables

Economic Growth: To act as an indicator of economic growth, data for annual Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) growth per capita was taken for countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Here, GDP

23
growth per capita is based on market prices in constant 2010 U.S. dollars and should be

understood as the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy

including any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products.

This figure is then divided by the population to give an indicator of economic performance

which can be utilised for cross-country comparison. The data was collected from the World

Bank DataBank for each country and then the average GDP per capita growth was taken for

each individual country over the sample period. Data unavailability and instances of conflict

forced removal of some countries within sub-Saharan Africa and this was reflected within each

dataset.

Knowledge Economy: Internet adoption across sub-Saharan Africa is used here as an indicator

for the knowledge economy. Specifically, this means the individuals who have used the

internet (from any location) within the last 3 months represented as a percentage of the

population. Internet adoption across sub-Saharan Africa is a good indicator of an emerging

knowledge economy as countries that depend on knowledge-intensive services tend to adopt

the internet for widespread sharing of knowledge and information. Widespread internet

adoption has many social and economic benefits, most prominently is that it enhances the

transmission and diffusion of new knowledge, information and communications throughout

society which serves as a substantial benefit for technical innovation and an important

medium through which knowledge is spread. Johnson (2016:1191) sees the internet as a

‘source of strong positive externalities since is constitutes a mean for industries and

enterprises to learn from one another’. Internet usage also indicates TE quality as argued by

Jiménez et al. (2014) who concludes that widespread internet and information and

communication technologies enable students to develop their abilities that are ‘supplemented

with real-time multimedia content (internet)’. Data was collected from the World Bank

24
DataBank site for each country within the sample list over the period 2015-2017 and for 2010

to indicate recent internet adoption and baselines indicators of the knowledge economy.

Educational Participation (School enrolment ratio, tertiary): Previous attempts at measuring

relationships between human capital and the economy utilised school enrolment ratios as a

proxy and therefore this is one of the indicators this study will use. For example, Barro (1991)

uses school-enrolment rates as a proxy measurement for human capital when attempting to

understand whether convergence in levels of GDP growth is applicable when considering

human capital input. Similarly, both Mankiw et al. (1992) and Levine and Renelt (1992) use

data on the fraction of eligible population enrolled in secondary school as a proxy for human-

capital accumulation. Although widely used, this indicator alone is insufficient as a measure for

human capital and does not account for the effect of educational attainment. Data was taken

from the World Bank DataBank site for countries within sub-Saharan Africa on gross enrolment

ratios to TE and averaged across the sample period. The gross enrolment ratio is the ratio of

total enrolment (both sexes), regardless of age, to the population of the age group that

officially corresponds to the level of education shown, and expressed as a percentage of the 5-

year age group following on from secondary education.

Educational Attainment (Years of Schooling): The average number of tertiary level years of

schooling is another proxy for the human capital produced during tertiary level education. This

imitates the methodology of a number of studies such as that undertaken by Psacharopoulos

and Arriagada (1986) who argue that the number of years of schooling is a more accurate

indicator of the flow of human capital into the labour force of a country. This particular

indicator uses the updated Barro and Lee (2013) dataset to compute the average number of

tertiary years of schooling over 1990-2010 for available countries in the dataset. The data was

gathered from the World Bank DataBank site.

25
Methodological Limitations

There are a number of limitations to this study which should be highlighted. The most

significant methodological issue in investigating the relationship between TE and economic

growth is the challenge of choosing proxies that accurately reflect human capital. Bouma and

Atkinson (1995:61) see concerns over the question of validity as a common theme within social

research due to the nature of research moving inquiry from ‘the abstract to the concrete’.

Therefore, a potential limitation of this study is that the proxies chosen herein may not in fact

be a robust enough representative of the concept of human capital. This could result in

potential insignificance between the variables or misinterpreted positive association between

economic growth and tertiary level education. Moreover, omitted independent variables such

as the effect of wider human capital accumulation or the consequence of informal education

may limit the results of this study. In an attempt to overcome this issue, the proxies chosen

herein have been well-established throughout the literature and utilised to explore similar

relationships to that of this study.

Another limitation of this study is in the quality and availability of data. The reporting and data

collection methodologies employed to gather data on the TE indicators detailed have meant

that methods had to be employed to handle incomplete data. In these instances, the study

choose to employ fill-in methods as proposed by Weisberg (1985:246), who recommends that

‘for data collected in time sequence… missing values can be reliably estimated from observed

values for that variable immediately prior to, and after, the missing value’. Regression analysis

requires fully completed data sets and a matching number of observations, therefore this

method for handling incomplete data sets was utilised. It was handled by finding the increase

in percentage between observations to then compute missing values in between. Similarly,

there were cases where data was unavailable for countries for the specified sample period or

26
data was unavailable to a degree where plausibly estimating the value of some observations

would have grossly affected the generalisation of research findings. In the case of unobserved

values, case deletion was seen as the most attractive method available and therefore some

countries were removed from the datasets. Another related methodological concern is that

the variability in any of the data is due to measurement error however, for the purpose of this

study all data collected for each independent variable is assumed to be accurate.

Another limitation of this research is the endogeneity bias that might potentially exist in the

models. For example, GDP growth is clearly affected by a number of different variables such as

monetary policy, population growth, investment into physical capital and available land

resources, which in turn means the findings of this study cannot credibly certify whether

economic growth has been caused by the independent variables. Regression analysis seeks to

find the relationship between two variables and therefore without substantial theoretical

foundations, causation cannot be inferred. This is underpinned by issues of reverse causality

between TE and economic growth whereby increased economic prosperity may result in

increased public spending on university education. Similarly, as economic prosperity increases

this may result in increased personal income, the demand for education may rise and with it,

enrolment rates.

An unavoidable limitation of this study is in the very nature of its cross-country analysis which

means countries across sub-Saharan Africa are typified by differing levels of TE quality. This

means that extrapolating or generalising results to infer policy recommendations at an

individual country level or for a group of geographically, socially or economically related

countries is difficult and would largely limit its reliability. Also taking averages across a

heterogenous group of sample countries means that different TE systems and country contexts

are not seen in any research findings. This study however seeks to infer broader policy

27
recommendations, rather than specific country recommendations when considering the state

and future of TE reform in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ethical Considerations

Social research by its nature is about people. Though this study did not undertake any

interviews or interaction with subjects for the purposes of the research, all information

gathered from source material, secondary datasets and academic literature was obtained

lawfully and reported accurately.

28
Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis

This chapter proposes to present the findings of this investigation where bivariate and

multivariate linear regression was carried out to examine the relationship between economic

growth and TE in the context of developing a knowledge economy. The discussion will first

present both the scattergram and correlational analysis carried out between the dependent

and independent variables described in the previous chapter to clarify their basic relationships.

Then the study develops multivariate regression models to explore how these basic

relationships transform when attempting to understand their relationship by examining their

association over and above countries with the same level of development.

Basic Relationships

Economic Growth and Participation in TE (Enrolment Ratios)

Much of the literature sees schooling as being interchangeable with the concept of human

capital and therefore this study has proposed that tertiary enrolment ratios are a reliable

mechanism by which human capital can be measured. Moreover, this study hypothesised that

TE provides the skills and knowledge needed for economic growth, through innovation and

technological assimilation. Therefore, correlational analysis was used to examine the

relationship between average gross enrolment ratios for TE and average yearly GDP growth

per capita over the years 2000-2015 for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The results indicate

almost no correlation between the dependent and independent variable, r = 0.02, n = 46, p =

0.8. A scattergram (Figure 1) summarises the results. This is rather surprising and contrasts to

the initial hypotheses made.

29
Figure 1: Average yearly gross tertiary enrolment ratio vs. average yearly growth in GDP per

capita for years 2000-2015 in sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank DataBank).

Average yearly gross tertiary enrolment ratio vs. average yearly

growth in GDP per capita for years 2000-2015 in sub-Saharan Africa
Average yearly growth rate in GDP per capita (%)

30

25

20

15

10

0
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Average yearly gross tertiary enrolment ratio from 2000-2015 (% of population)

Knowledge Economy and Participation in TE (Enrolment Rates)

Internet adoption was chosen as the proxy for an emerging knowledge economy to test the

hypothesis that TE produces the human capital required by the labour force to increase their

capacity to innovate or adopt new technologies. Theoretically, the improved absorptive

capacity of the labour force will result in increased wider adoption of the internet.

Correlational analysis was first utilised to understand whether the average yearly gross tertiary

enrolment ratio corresponds to the percentage of the population who use the internet. In this

instance, a scattergram was drawn to summarise the results (Figure 2) which suggests that

strong positive association exists between average tertiary level enrolment ratios and internet

adoption, r = 0.65, n = 45, p < 0.01. It can therefore be concluded that as tertiary level

30
participation increases, so does the wider access to knowledge which is an integral part of both

constructing a knowledge economy and economic development.

Figure 2: Average yearly gross enrolment ratio from 2000-2015 vs Internet Adoption in 2015

for sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank DataBank).

Average yearly gross enrolment ratio from 2000-2015 vs Internet

Adoption in 2015 for sub-Saharan Africa
60
Individual User of the Internet 2015 (% of the

50

40
population)

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average yearly gross tertiary enrolment ratio, 2000-2015 (% of the population)

Economic Growth and TE Attainment (Years of Schooling)

The study then looked at whether TE attainment, as indicated by years of schooling was

correlated to GDP growth per capita. The scattergram (Figure 3) suggests that TE attainment

and GDP per capita for the sample period 1990-2010 are very weakly correlated, r = 0.08, n =

32, p = 0.6. This suggests that almost no linear relationship exists between the two variables.

Similarly, we can conclude that both TE attainment and enrolment have the same result from

31
the correlational analyses; both indicators are not correlated to GDP growth per capita. This

contradicts the hypotheses developed in the methodology chapter.

Figure 3: Average yearly growth in GDP per capita vs. average number of years of TE 1990-

2010 for sub-Saharan Africa (Barro-Lee Dataset and World Bank DataBank)

Average yearly growth in GDP per capita vs. average years of

schooling (age 15+) 1990-2010
25
Average yearly growth in GDP per capita 1990-2010

20

15

10

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35

-5
Average years of tertiary schooling (age 15+), 1990-2010

Knowledge Economy and TE Attainment (Years of Schooling)

To understand whether TE helped to develop an emerging knowledge economy, correlational

analysis was done on internet adoption in 2010 and average educational attainment over the

sample period of 1990-2010. The scattergram (Figure 4) suggests that there is a weak positive

correlation between the two variables, r = 0.13, n = 32, p = 0.4. This is not strong enough to

32
conclude that a relationship exists between educational attainment and the emergence of a

knowledge economy.

Figure 4: Average percentage increase in years of tertiary level schooling for years 1990-2010

vs Internet Adoption in 2010 for sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank DataBank).

Internet adoption in 2010 vs. average educational attainment for

years 1990-2010 for sub-Saharan Africa
Individual users of the Internet 2010 (% of the

30

25

20
population)

15

10

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
Average years of tertiary schooling (1990-2010)

Main Results:

Economic Growth

The study then chose to develop multivariate models for both economic growth and the

knowledge economy. The impact of TE enrolment can be seen in the regression models

detailed in Table 1. The table presents simple model of growth over the period 2000-2015 for

the set of 45 sub-Saharan African countries, with data required on GDP per capita and

33
enrolment rates to TE. The inclusion of GDP per capita in 2000 is standard throughout the

literature and measures the impact of TE on countries of the same level of development. As

Hanushek (2016) explains, this is to reflect the fact that countries which start behind are able

to grow rapidly through the copying of existing and advancements in technologies abroad,

whilst the more advance countries must develop new technologies for growth.

Table 1: Effect of teritary education on subsequent economic growth across SSA countries,

2000-2015

Variables (1) (2) (3)

GDP per capita, 2000 0.005 0.004
(0.1) (0.2)
TE Enrolment 0.013 0.006
(0.087) (0.097)
Adjusted R^2 -0.046
N 45 45 45
Note: * p<0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p<0.001. Coefficients from country-level OLS regressions of internet penetration in 2015 on GDP

per capita in 2000 and the average gross TE enrolment ratio 2000-2015 across 45 Sub-Saharan African countries

Evidently, the results have little explanatory or predictive power which indicates that the

findings cannot support the hypothesis that economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has been

driven by TE expansion. As presented in the literature review, other studies on the topic have

found there to be a significant link between TE and economic growth. However, the

irrelevance of the results found in this study is supported elsewhere in the literature and could

potentially be attributed to a number of competing hypotheses. For example, it is well

understood that the quality of education is vital and is potentially a determining factor for

economic growth within an emerging knowledge economy. This is shown to be the case in a

recent study by Hanushek and Wößmann (2007) where it was found that test scores had a

34
powerful impact on the economic growth of countries between 1960-2000. The insignificance

found within these regressions could therefore point to educational quality as being a

contributing factor, whereby graduates from sub-Saharan Africa have generally not formed the

required human capital from tertiary schooling which would allow them to successfully

contribute to economic growth. Historically speaking, sub-Saharan Africa has comparatively

the lowest attainment and enrolment ratios in TE and this could therefore affect the stock of

cognitive ability within the labour force. Likewise, due to data unavailability and a lack of

standardised educational quality indicators across sub-Saharan Africa, this insignificance could

be attributed to contextual educational quality differences being treated as homogenous in

the regressions. Without these standardised international measures of quality, it is difficult to

make comparisons with other areas where TE was found to have a significant impact on

economic growth.

Another argument is that sub-Saharan African countries are comparatively less technologically

advanced than countries such as those in the OEDC and are only just emerging as knowledge

economies, therefore there is less of a demand for a highly skilled labour force. This argument

is consistent with the findings of Aghion et al. (2009) and supported in work by Vandenbussche

et al. (2006) who develop models that evidence that skilled labour has a higher growth-

enhancing effect in countries that are closer to the technological frontier. This is also

supported by Self and Grabowski (2004) and Keller’s (2006) conclusions that TE is essential in

developed countries and less so elsewhere. Rather than educational quality, this perhaps

points to a knowledge or skills gap between what is required by the economy for growth and

the composition of tertiary curriculum and resulting human capital formation. This also

highlights the role of state actors in strengthening the link between industry and TE

institutions to ensure that research output and curriculum composition are well aligned with

national strategies for innovation and economic development.

35
Moreover, the expansion of TE participation and attainment may not have led to immediate

rapid economic growth and there may be insubstantial partnerships between institutions and

industry. Milheim (1991) illustrates the importance of the alliances between business and

education, which is a traditionally weak area within public TE systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

Likewise, Pritchett (2000) notes that highly skilled individuals might seek employment with low

economic returns that are instead privately rewarding. Alternatively, the migration of highly

educated Africans post-graduation could have played a significant role in contributing to these

results. This is supported by Capuano and Marfouk (2013) who find that the propensity to

emigrate in highly skilled workers in 12 times that of low skilled workers.

Moreover, the economic growth experience by sub-Saharan Africa from 2000-2015 either may

not be explained at all by TE or due to methodological issues, its impact is somewhat masked.

In fact, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that the boom in the prices of commodities due to

rising demand by emerging markets help to explain the economic growth of region (IMF,

2017). Similarly, a large reduction in public and external debt due to the implementation of

debt relief programmes helped to improve fiscal stability and improve economic growth

(Battaile et al., 2015). In all likelihood, these explanations have all contributed in some manner

to these findings, however this study would argue that educational quality, absence of demand

for highly skilled individuals and human capital migration are the most probable.

Knowledge Economy

This study then measured the effect of TE on subsequent internet penetration across sub-

Saharan African countries across 2000-2015 as presented in Table 2. This intended to further

develop the findings shown in Figure 2 by adding baseline data for GDP per capita to compare

the effect of TE on internet penetration across countries at the same level of development.

36
Table 2: Effect of teritary education on subsequent internet penetration across SSA countries, 2000-

2015

Variables (1) (2) (3)

GDP per capita, 2000 4.725*** 3.689***
(0.598) (0.551)

TE 1.838*** 1.123***
(0.326) (0.253)

Adjusted R^2 0.71

N 45 45 45
Note: * p<0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p<0.001. Coefficients from country-level OLS regressions of internet penetration in 2015 on GDP

per capita in 2000 and the average gross TE enrolment ratio 2000-2015 across 45 Sub-Saharan African countries.

In analysing the basic relationships, this study found that as tertiary level participation

increases, so does the wider access to knowledge through internet adoption. This multivariate

model seeks to understand the effect of TE whilst controlling for GDP growth per capita to

compare the effect TE enrolment had on internet penetration across countries at the same

level of development. The estimated relationships in column (3) rely on TE enrolment ratios as

the best performing human capital indicator. Importantly, when we move away from the

bivariate regressions in columns (1) and (2), it is clear that TE enrolment ratios are still

significantly related to internet penetration and explain nearly three-quarters of the variation

in internet adoption when comparing this effect across countries at the same level of

development. Though the coefficient decreases slightly in both cases when moving from

bivariate to multivariate models, column (3) estimates that when we include tertiary

education, internet adoption increases by 1.1 per cent. This demonstrates that the human

capital formed at TE institutions is positively related to internet penetration when we consider

37
countries at the same level of development. We can therefore conclude that as more people

enter into TE the greater access to the knowledge economy the wider population is afforded.

Mechanisms of Human Capital

Having established an association between internet adoption and TE, this study will now

attempt to explain the mechanisms through which TE institutions might contribute to the

construction of a knowledge economy. Previously, this study hypothesised that there were

three mechanisms by which TE affected economic growth. First and perhaps most obvious is

that TE is a producer of human capital and a more highly skilled labour force is likely to be

more productive than a less skilled labour force. Furthermore, as a producer of human capital,

TE institutions provide the specialised knowledge and theoretical frameworks required for

both innovation and increasing the absorptive capacities of the labour force. Perhaps

surprisingly, the findings of this study confirm that neither TE attainment nor participation had

any strong relationship with growth in GDP per capita in sub-Saharan Africa.

A strong positive relationship was however found between internet adoption and TE

enrolments across sub-Saharan Africa which suggests that as TE expands, so does the wider

access to knowledge and information. This is a clear indication of emerging knowledge-based

economies and supports the hypothesis that the human capital produced at TE institutions is a

key aspect in forming a knowledge economy. As Powell and Snellman (2004:199) note, the

increased penetration of the internet and other ICTs in sub-Saharan Africa provides a

“considerable opportunity to remake the nature of work and the economy”, so as to become

more reliant on the intellectual capacities of the labour force. Moreover, processes of

globalisation and the emergence of knowledge economies in sub-Saharan Africa are

transforming the demands of the labour market as we see a rapid expansion of knowledge
38
intensive industries (World Bank, 2003). It seems as though TE both corresponds to the

emergence of knowledge economies and is well placed to support the new demands of the

labour market through human capital production.

There are a number of explanations for the strong correlation we see between the emergence

of a knowledge economy and TE participation over and above the initial level of development

for emerging knowledge economies. First and foremost is that TE provides the labour force

with the skills required to meet the demands of both the global knowledge economy and the

knowledge demands of country-level economies through human capital production. Human

capital channelled through TE institutions works through two mechanisms, firstly it encourages

innovation in processes and technologies and secondly, increases the absorptive capacity of

the labour force.

The first of these human capital mechanisms, innovation, is a crucial driver of economic

growth and has been regarded as such by advanced and developed economies (Dakhli and De

Clercq, 2004). If we treat human capital formation as endogenous to economic growth, then it

follows that expanding the stock of knowledge increases the capacity of other productivity

factors through more advanced machinery, more efficient systems and more effective

processes. The increased adoption of ICTs in sub-Saharan Africa and the associated expansion

of TE indicates wider and more freely available access to information which in turn provides an

environment more conducive to innovation and higher productivity. Likewise, knowledge-

sharing through ICTs ensure that ‘technical know-how’ is used by more people at a much lower

costs (World Development Report, 2009). The knowledge created at tertiary level-education

therefore enables society to implement growth enhancing ICTs such as the internet, through

which knowledge can be disseminated to a wider pool of people.

39
In the context of sub-Saharan Africa, TE institutions also have considerable potential to

contribute to growth through their incorporation into national innovation systems. Metcalfe

and Ramlogan (2008:436) argue that the innovation agenda of developing countries is of great

importance as economic development is ‘intimately linked to a country’s capacity to acquire,

absorb, disseminate, and apply modern technologies’. Whilst innovation at the frontier is likely

to be out of reach for sub-Saharan Africa in light of its current technological capability, this

highlights how TE can help to increase the absorptive capacity of the labour market to adopt

and implement technological advances made elsewhere. The fact that enrolment rates and

internet adoption are strongly associated supports this contention and verifies the hypothesis

that the human capital produced through higher education enables wider adoption and

implementation of knowledge-intensive technologies such as ICTs. This supports

Vandebuscche’ s (2006) argument that moving towards the frontier represents the greatest

growth opportunities rather than attempts to be at the frontier of technology and highly

skilled individuals are likely to be key to this. As Porter (1990) notes, our ability to utilise and

apply knowledge enables humans to increase productivity, innovate, commercialise and to

adapt to technological changes which are vital to adapting economic structures to compete on

the global stage.

The established association between TE and developing a knowledge-based economy may also

operate in a reinforcing loop. Whilst TE provides the technical knowledge to implement ICTs

and other forms of knowledge sharing, ICTs allow for many growth enhancing opportunities

for TE. For example, cross-border partnerships facilitated through the use of ICTs such as

research and development activities or programme delivery further contribute to knowledge

creation. This knowledge can then be disseminated through improved access and adoption of

ICTs. Further explanations for the findings are that the observed upward trend in ICT adoption

across the continent could be seen as a response to the requirements of an increasingly

40
educated labour force. Processes of knowledge production, codification and transfer are all

more easily assisted by ICTs and contribute to the wider development of a knowledge-based

economy. This is illustrated by Ancori et al. (2000) who argue that knowledge must be put into

a recognisable form, circulated and exchanged in order to be treated as an economic good.

In drawing a conclusion, one may be tempted to hypothesise that TE causes the changes found

in internet adoption in sub-Saharan Africa, however we must consider the case for reverse

causation. Internet adoption and increased participation into the global knowledge economy

allow individuals to access widely available information on how to excel, how others excel and

the array of options available to invest in an individual’s human capital through TE. This may

result in increased enrolments to TE. Wider participation in the knowledge economy also

allows access to the growing number of e-learning and distance learning tertiary institutions in

sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, the development of ICT infrastructure and its increased users in

sub-Saharan Africa enables improvement in learning quality at institutions such as universities.

The higher quality of education being provided could therefore attract more students who may

have previously been perturbed by the lack of resources and poor educational outcomes prior

to increased internet adoption. Betchoo (2017) agrees with this contention and argues that as

areas of Africa become ever more connected through cheaper e-technologies such as mobile

phones and tablets, this will prompt an expansion of e-learning and distance learning

opportunities, and with it more students. However, though this may be true, online education

in sub-Saharan Africa is still in its infancy with issues such as internet connectivity, the lack of

qualified lecturers and the unreadiness of universities to implement distance learning courses

crucially affecting its expansion (World Bank, 2002b). Though further research is required in

order to specify causation, the findings, analysis and theoretical underpinning of this study

suggests that the hypotheses outlined in the methodology have been strengthened. This

means that the adoption of ICTs reinforces knowledge creation and provides the medium
41
through which it can be widely disseminated, thus helping to develop a knowledge-based

economy.

Omitted variables are however of concern within this model. The strong association between

internet adoption and participation in TE could reflect some factors that have been excluded

from this analysis which also strongly correspond to internet adoption in 2010 and 2015-2017

or TE enrolment rates. For example, targeted government investment in building widespread

internet infrastructure due to economic growth, TE subsidies or other government policies

could provide an explanation. Similarly, the strong correlation could have arisen because

countries with conditions that encourage tertiary enrolment also see higher internet adoption.

This could be due to any number of economic or cultural factors which may be related internet

adoption. This is an important consideration and identification of these omitted variables is a

point of departure for future study on this topic.

Bridging the Divide

This study has thus far established a link between TE and the emergence of a knowledge-based

economy. It has argued that the concept of human capital provides is useful in analysing this

relationship, insomuch as TE institutions serve as sites of human capital and knowledge

production. These themes are clearly relevant to the development of a knowledge driven

global economy which puts further impetus on developing countries to ensure they can

compete within the global economy and reap the rewards of global economic prosperity.

Technological progress and the demand for knowledge-intensive industries and services has

also meant a shift in the skills required by employers, and in order to ensure competitiveness,

national economic prosperity is dependent on ensuring the workforce is both highly

knowledgeable and entrepreneurial (Brown et al., 2001).

42
As the World Bank (2007:17) notes, the ‘knowledge revolution’ presents a number of threats

and challenges for developing countries not least the ‘differences in telephone and internet

use’ and the ‘widening in the existing knowledge gap with industrialised countries’. Though

this study has shown that there seems to be a balance between human capital accumulation

and adoption of modern ICTS in sub-Saharan Africa, the continent lags far behind in research

and innovation capabilities. For example, in 1996 researchers estimated that only 4 per cent of

worldwide R&D investment came from outside of the OEDC, China, Brazil, India and East Asia

(OEDC, 1996). Similarly, expenditure on research and development in OEDC countries totalled

2.2 per cent of GDP in comparison to 0.5 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa by 2007 (World Bank,

2018). The lack of the expertise, funding, infrastructure and political will needed to gain from

research and development output and the benefits of an expanded and functional TE sector

has meant that less advanced economies cannot enjoy the wealth and public support

produced and needed to continue research and development activities (Romer, 1990).

Similarly, though adoption of the internet in sub-Saharan Africa has risen over the last quarter-

century, this tends to mask many of the entrenched inequalities within the continent between

the rich and the poor through a growing middle-class, and between those who reside in cities

and in rural areas as well as between men and women. Likewise, in terms of national

competitiveness, ICT penetration is subject to poor infrastructure, low bandwidth and

generally a low-quality service (World Bank, 2007). Crucially, without developing a knowledge-

based economy founded on a quality stock of human capital, sub-Saharan Africa risks the gap

widening with more advanced economies. The results of this study however suggest that

expansion of TE across the continent could help to bridge this divide through development of a

knowledge economy.

43
Conclusion

Based on the results of this study, TE expansion would seem to be a important component of

strategies aimed at developing a knowledge-based economy. The internet, and other low-cost

ICTs such as mobile telephones have the ability to have a high impact in sub-Saharan African

development by revolutionising the range of opportunities available and broadening access to

the global knowledge economy, all at a relatively low cost. There is also a growing body

empirical literature that finds a positive association between ICTs and economic growth

(Niebel, 2014). The conclusion that as tertiary level participation increases, so does wider

access to the knowledge society has important ramifications for policymakers as well as

avenues for future research. The findings also strengthened the hypotheses developed from

the literature review, namely that TE produces the human capital required by the economy for

growth in emerging knowledge economies. Both increasing the economy’s innovative and

absorptive capacities are two probable explanations for the correspondence found between

internet adoption and TE enrolment and supports arguments highlighted within the literature

review which claim a relationship between human capital and economic growth.

44
Issues for Policy Discussion

This study has found that participation in tertiary level education corresponds with increased

access to the knowledge economy. This has quite specific implications for policymakers, who

may seek to build on these findings to develop sub-Saharan Africa’s emergence as a

knowledge-based economy. This study would contend that there are two overarching policy

measure that should be explored in relation to these findings. The first being the continued

expansion of TE participation. This is to say that policies aimed at increasing enrolments to TE

institutions across sub-Saharan Africa would have wider implications for integration and

connectivity to the global knowledge economy. Though there have been arguments made that

TE for all is not necessarily a precursor to economic development, sub-Saharan Africa has both

the lowest enrolment rates to TE and the youngest population in the world (World Bank,

2018). This suggests that demand for education will grow exponentially in the coming decades

as individuals seek to invest in their futures, meaning the region must have the capacities to

manage this correctly. However, stating that more TE will equate to economic development

through increased access to the knowledge society is a rather simplistic view to take. To date,

the continent has faced huge financial, political and economic challenges in pushing TE to

where it is now.

The second policy area these findings would suggest is to focus on how the human capital

produced as tertiary institution can be further channelled through ICTs such as the internet.

This would mean creating a regulatory environment which encourages further adoption of the

internet and other ICTs such as mobile telecommunication devices but coupled with a balance

in improvements to human capital stock. As this study has found, there is currently stability

between human capital production and penetration of ICTs, however encouraging public and

45
private investment, and supporting the institutions that produce human capital will be critical

in developing a knowledge-based economy.

If this study is to recommend further expansion of the sector, we must clearly outline how

both old, and new challenges exist therefore highlighting potential avenues for research and

policymaking. One caveat to this forthcoming discussion is that sub-Saharan Africa is a large

and diverse space in which there are many differing, and highly contextual challenges faced by

TE systems which therefore makes it rather difficult to generalise. There are however several

problems which share some commonality across the continent, though their causes are

nuanced and specific to the socio-economic environment within which they persist. This study

will attempt to highlight some of the principal challenges faced by policymakers in sub-Saharan

Africa in enabling its transition to a knowledge-based economy through increased participation

at tertiary level education.

Funding

Generally speaking, TE in sub-Saharan Africa has been restrained by decades of underfunding

which has resulted in poor quality teaching and a lack of the physical infrastructure needed to

cope with growing enrolment rates and reduced research output. Atteh (1996) supports this

and argues that the most critical problem facing TE institutions across sub-Saharan Africa is the

rapid decline in public expenditure in comparison to the rate that enrolments are increasing.

Furthermore, the Task Force for Tertiary Education (TFTE) contends that increased enrolments

should be regarded as one of the major threats to TE systems across sub-Saharan Africa within

an increasingly competitive global labour market (TFTE, 2000:27). Sub-Saharan African

universities are clearly under huge financial pressure which has resulted in a lack of investment

46
into public institutions and has been compounded by governance issues such as the

misallocation and misuse of available financial resources (Teffera and Altbach, 2004:26-27).

From a policy perspective, TE systems cannot perform and meet the needs of national and

institutional plans if they are not supported by stable and sufficient streams of funding within

an environment conducive to diversified funding models. This highlights the important role

both governments and oversight bodies can play in implementing policies relating to forms of

public and private funding models. This is because funding from the public exchequer is

unlikely to meet the challenge of constructing knowledge economies alone as well as to meet

the widening demand for tertiary level education. Therefore, institutions should be able to

seek funding from one or a combination of a both public and private funding streams. This is

because solely publicly funded institutions where government expenditure is represented as a

fixed percentage of the annual budget tend to be less innovative and responsive to

fluctuations in demand and a more inclined to preserve TE systems and structures (Liefner,

2003). Another argument could be made that a publicly funded system decreases any

incentive to maximise quality and effectiveness of teaching. In this case, private funding

through research contracts, grants or gifts ensures competitiveness within market driven

models and therefore institutions must offer high quality services in order to remain

competitive and attract high quality faculty staff or prospective students. The issue of TE

funding may also come down to the fact that its socio-economic benefits may not be fully

appreciated by governments across sub-Saharan Africa, some of whom may see it as an elitist

pursuit or may not recognise the importance of a functioning TE system to economic growth.

Therefore, the funding models applied to TE systems across sub-Saharan Africa are absolutely

critical in meeting the challenges of expansion and must be endorsed by key decision-makers

in government.

47
Future research and policy debates should also be undertaken at country-level on the

desirability of private financing within TE systems and in mixed-funding models, what

constitutes the desired threshold for private capital. Oketch (2016) argues that cost-sharing

models and loan dependent models are two of the strongest potential models for sub-Saharan

Africa and therefore future research should be aimed at developing sustainable funding

streams along those lines. Barr (2004) also recognises a well-designed loan scheme as

important, however outside of the OEDC and in poor countries that have large informal

sectors, this represents a great challenge to governments whose ability to collect income tax is

diminished.

Governance

Poor governance has clearly been a challenge throughout the expansion of TE over the last few

decades in sub-Saharan Africa. Not only does poor governance lead to ineffective use of the

limited resources available in sub-Saharan Africa, it has generally allowed for the involvement

of politicians to TE systems which the World Bank sees as ‘widening the possibilities for

corruption, nepotism, and political opportunism’ (World Bank, 2000:53). One of the most

important issues considers the role of the state in managing tertiary institutions with either full

control or within a supervisory capacity (Van Vught and Westerheijden, 1994). The supervisory

model sees the withdrawal of the state from its control functions and decision-making

capacities through the implementation of an independent buffer body to manage the standard

functions of these institutions (Fielden, 2008). Importantly, the trend acknowledged by Fielden

(Ibid.) of universities moving away from state-controlled models is to some degree being

followed within sub-Saharan Africa, however there are many instances in which governments

still appoint university chairs or university boards. This study would therefore argue that in

48
response to a changing global context, sub-Saharan African TE systems are in the process of

redefining the role of the state from management and control to that of a regulatory oversight

body. If we look at evidence from European systems of education, which are by-and-large state

supervised, it is clear that enacting policy measures which increase both the accountability and

autonomy of universities ensures academic freedom, shared standards of rights and

responsibilities and financial stability (World Bank, 2000).

This study would suggest that policy discussions should be underpinned by the ideal of shared

governance and supported by a buffer body with representatives from both government and

TE institutions. Varghese (2013) sees buffer bodies as redefining the relationship between

government and TE institutions and are enormously important in supporting new policy

initiatives, quality assurance, regulation in the wider sector and the implementation of

accountability measures. For example, the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Nigeria

have been responsible for accreditation and intervening where necessary, setting education

quality standards and ensuring illegal universities are shut down (Olayinka and Adedeji, 2013).

Equality of Access

Access to TE presents a major barrier both to increasing enrolment rates across sub-Saharan

Africa and ensuring that the many young people in the continent are able to take up the

opportunity to learn. First and foremost, equitable access and the current disparities in

participation such as those experienced by women, also extend into employment

opportunities. Significant disparities between gender specific enrolments still remain within

areas of skills shortages, for example, Ngome (2003) states that female enrolment to

engineering and technical programmes make up only 10 per cent of the total enrolments to

those programmes, however, all female enrolments to public universities totalled 30 per cent.

49
In their review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, Bloom et al. (2006) give many

examples of policies aimed at ensuring equitable access such as in Malawi where 30 per cent

of university places were secured for girls or in Senegal where focus was put on creating

training centres for women. Access to TE for women is especially imperative in light of a large

body of literature which demonstrates how female education is fundamental to growth (World

Bank, 2007).

Student financing for TE is another example, with many TE courses found in sub-Saharan

African universities costing too much than students can afford. The ‘#FeesMustFall’ protests of

2016 were an effort to lobby for a reduction in the costs of yearly tuition fees as well as to

protest about the entrenched inequality of access to TE in South Africa, with similar

movements found across sub-Saharan Africa. Reform along the lines of what has been

discussed already in this chapter would help, however within those funding models, special

attention should be given to fee structures that exclude prospective students from poor

backgrounds. However, as explained by Munene and Wycliffe (2008), financial support alone is

not enough when other barriers such as lack of quality schooling act as compounding factors.

Though rather simplistic, increasing access and mass education at primary and secondary

levels would to some degree ensure equitable access for marginalised and disadvantaged

groups for whom education would be ordinarily unavailable. It follows that enrolling in

education at tertiary level is dependent on being educated at both primary and secondary

levels.

Other issues, such as the centralisation of public education institutions within major cities and

the language of instruction also present barriers to many of the sub-Saharan African

population. The development of quality and multilingual distance and e-learning programmes

from tertiary institutions, and the increased internet adoption we could see as a result would

50
enable individuals from rural and geographically remote areas to engage with the knowledge

economy. Whilst the progress in this area is somewhat encouraging, policymakers must ensure

that measures are taken to ensure equitable access where longstanding inclusion and

exclusion based on socio-economic circumstance, gender, ethnicity or racial lines is eradicated.

Human Capital Flight

Another issue faced by expanding TE systems is the migration of highly educated academics

and prospective graduates from their country of domicile to Europe, North America and

Australia due to pecuniary incentives of doing so. This is not a new challenge to the continent

but will become critical as the region expands its TE provision and may potentially contribute

significantly to the weakening of local knowledge networks. As an example, Rapoport and

Docquier (2012) find that Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Eritrea and Uganda are some of the

most affected countries of the ‘brain drain’ and average a 41 per cent loss of human capital

stock between them in 2000. This of course has a clear impact on the quality of education

provided as well as the flow of human capital into the national economy.

However, in some cases the migration of highly skilled individuals in not necessarily a long-

term issue as many may remit their earnings to their home country. This causes Maigaard and

Mingat to reframe the ‘brain drain’ as exportation (2012). However, this argument would only

hold up to scrutiny if the ‘brain drain’ was part of a concerted effort by governments to

monetise human capital abroad. Likewise, Kuhn and McAusland (2006) argue that highly

skilled individuals help raise global innovation more generally when operating in a working

environment which further develops their human capital, such as can be found within the

service economies of OEDC countries. Moreover, the advantages of high skill migrations are

returned through imports of improved technology at lower costs or through returning

51
migrants who carry with them positive network externalities and enhanced skills and

knowledge. Though there is a body of literature which has highlighted the benefits of the so-

called brain drain, the challenges this presents to education quality and labour force quality

compounds the scarcity of human capital in sub-Saharan Africa and bolsters the human capital

stock of OEDC countries thus exacerbating the issue. It is rather unlikely that should a country

lose 40 per cent of its stock of human capital and innovative capacity, they would be better off.

It also proves to be a costly exercise for countries who then lack the human capital they

require, as they must then recruit foreign expertise thus creating an unfavourable chain

reaction where sub-Saharan African countries then bear the costs of both funding education

and recruiting expertise when their graduates migrate.

There have been many policy options to date which have tried to stem the flow of human

capital to other areas of the globe, however this still remains a challenge. The underlying

principal is that highly skilled individuals who have undertaken tertiary level education need a

conduit through which their knowledge can be diffused back through to their domestic

economy. In some cases, formalising the remittances from migrants living abroad could

provide the necessary research and development expenditure to improve both domestic TE

quality and demand as well as to provide future employment opportunities for highly skilled

individuals (Saravia and Miranda, 2004). Another possible avenue to explore is to develop and

strengthen relationships with sister institutions to enable students to embark on training and

education elsewhere thus developing multicultural learning and integration. This is an area

that will likely require the attention of monitoring and evaluation experts and policymakers

should expansion of TE be undertaken.

52
Linking TE and Business

Developing countries have to date struggled with adapting to the global knowledge revolution

and the realities of a globalised market-led economy. TE systems bridge a critical gap between

the skills and knowledge being taught and those required by the economy. The absence of

specific relevance of TE to industry increases the risk of graduate unemployment which

squanders the already scare human capital that is so important to developing a knowledge-

based economy. Though there has been already a concerted effort by governments across sub-

Saharan Africa to increase access and enrolments to TE, this has resulted in rather alarming

graduate unemployment figures which Mohammedbhai (2015) puts down to the linkages

between universities and business, industry, public bodies and rural areas. Should sub-Saharan

Africa pursue policies of expansion in TE, this must be incorporated into national strategies for

innovation and economic growth in order to encourage a long-term view of TE investment.

Diagnostic reviews of the economy and highlighting the skills and knowledge deficits the

countries have in light of national growth strategies should be considered an important area

for policymakers’ attention. This enables participation at TE institutions to meet the needs of

the economy in both the short and long-term and to develop the skills and knowledge to

increase the innovative and absorptive capacities of the labour force. Generally speaking,

ensuring a strong link between TE institutions and the labour market is of considerable

importance and as demand and enrolments grow, policymakers must act to mitigate the risk of

widespread unemployment.

Likewise, targeted employment and involving businesses in course design and delivery is vital

to ensuring graduates leave with the knowledge and skills they need to adequately transition

to the labour market. This of course is underpinned by a robust and independently recognised

relationship between industry and TE institutions therefore enabling an active partnership,

53
rather than industry being passive customers of skilled human capital. For example, the

Government of Malawi is currently implementing a skills development project within targeted

public universities and tertiary vocational and technical entrepreneurial institutions in order to

take a focused approach to develop the skills needed for economic growth (World Bank, 2014).

This suggests that sub-Saharan Africa is beginning to realise its potential in this area and this is

one such example of a policy designed to ensure more effectiveness within the context TE’s

expansion. Teaching, research and entrepreneurial universities all have important parts to play

in their relationship to industry through curriculum development, developing absorptive

capacities to adopt new technology and business incubation or start-up services.

Another area of consideration relates to the establishment of innovation hubs, technology

hubs and science parks strengthened by cross-border collaboration between universities and

universities and businesses. Exemplified by Silicon Valley’s linkages with Massachusetts

Institute of Technology and Stanford universities, establishing links between research output

and innovation can potentially play an important role in encouraging economic growth

through university expansion. Zeng’s (2007) study of thirteen enterprise hubs in sub-Saharan

Africa demonstrates how knowledge, human capital and technological innovations contribute

to their success as well as economic growth and competitiveness at national and regional

levels. Such enterprise hubs could be a fruitful direction for policymakers and researchers in

developing connections between industry and education.

The benefits of forging these strong connections also highlights the need for TE to be

incorporated into national innovation systems. These systems seek to develop a ‘set of distinct

institutions which jointly and individually contribute to the development and diffusion of new

technologies and which provides the framework within which government form and

implement policies to influence the innovation process’ (Metcalfe, 1995:38). Whilst Sub-

54
Saharan African countries rarely operate on the frontiers of technological innovation, national

innovation systems are crucial to developing both the capacities and capabilities required for

competitive industrial sectors (Lall and Pietrobelli, 2005).

Diversification

Increased enrolment into TE across sub-Saharan Africa has so far seen the role and nature of

institutions change dramatically from traditional universities shaped by colonial influences, to

specialised institutions, quasi-businesses and technical and vocational colleges. Rising

participation has meant traditional universities have not been able to offer the broader range

of education demanded from them. This has resulted in a growing number of private TE

enterprises contributing to the sector’s expansion. However, costs, education quality, legal

status and public perception also make these a threat to the TE systems (Teferra and Altbach,

2004). Varghese and Püttmann (2011) see distance learning, programmes of study and

clientele as the key areas in which TE has diversified with the expansion of TE in sub-Saharan

Africa. In Birnbaum’s (1983) important work, the author makes a clear argument for

diversification as a strategy in education systems planning in relation to American higher

education. Birnbaum (Ibid) argues that diversity ensures TE meets the needs of both the

student and the labour market, provides social mobility, helps to mediate between

massification and intellectual elitism, increases effectiveness through specialisation and allows

for risk-free testing of innovations.

Diversification should therefore be regarded as a positive force; however, challenges arise

from a policy perspective in how to encourage it whilst safeguarding quality and academic

freedom. As TE expands across sub-Saharan Africa and responds to the requirements of the

knowledge society, diversification is inevitable, and governments may wish to encourage the

55
demand side of market forces. This enables institutions to specialise and compete for

prospective students which will in turn force these institutions to maintain levels of quality so

as to attract the most talented of Africa’s youth population. This is one such option and

strategies to actively manage the diversification of TE institutions should be examined by

policymakers and state actors whilst ensuring this is done within a robust regulatory

framework which emphasises quality accreditation.

Education Quality

As the World Bank (2002:58) puts it, ‘the quality and relevance of research, teaching, and

learning have tended to decline in public TE institutions in developing countries’ and cite issues

such as overcrowding, deteriorating facilities, outdated curricula and absence of academic

rigor. Though the results of this study suggest that expansion in TE participation will contribute

to a knowledge-based economy, it is imperative that an appropriate balance between quantity

and quality is achieved. The need for policymakers to implement TE quality assurance

mechanisms is therefore imperative for the expansion of the sector.

TE quality assurance is something that straddles most of the challenges discussed in this

chapter for it is interlinked with funding constraints, governance issues, human capital flight

and diversification in different ways. Materu (2007) therefore argues that quality assurance

must play a key role in the reforms needed within TE to address the many challenges outlined

herein and argues that many of the quality assurance agencies that exist do not have the legal

mandate to effectively carry out their remit. Policymakers should seek to address this issue;

however, this should not take this responsibility away from institutions themselves in

demanding higher levels of quality.

56
Future Research

In truth, many of these challenges are interlinked and in fact are compounding of one another,

though detailed analyses of their interdependencies is beyond the scope of this study. This

opens up several avenues of future research to examine the threats and opportunities faced in

expanding TE in sub-Saharan Africa at a country level. Similarly, empirically testing the

channels through which TE affects economic growth must be a priority of governments

throughout the region if they are to construct knowledge-based economies. Furthermore,

research that builds on the findings of this study and aimed at understanding how the

adoption of ICTs can positively affect human capital development at tertiary institutions is

critical in the coming years.

57
Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between TE and economic growth in sub-

Saharan Africa. The analysis found that there was no correlation between TE participation or

attainment and GDP per capita growth in the region. However, a robust association was found

between TE enrolments and internet adoption which was then explored in further detail to

understand whether this held for countries at the same level of development. This study

concluded that as participation in TE increases, so does wider access to the knowledge

economy. This is crucial in highlighting the role of TE institutions in developing knowledge

economies through the production and dissemination of knowledge, a key component of

growth within a globalised and interconnected economy. These conclusions in part support the

hypotheses developed in the methodology chapter which state that TE is important to

economic growth as a producer of the human capital required for higher productivity and

development of a knowledge-based economy. The findings suggest that if sub-Saharan African

TE systems could overcome its most critical challenges, the region may yet be able to bridge

the divide with advanced economies.

58
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