Literature Review Presentation on how World Bank policy affects National Human Resource Development in Sub-Saharan Africa by Charlene Mutamba

1. WORLD BANK POLICY &
NHRD IN SUB-SAHARAN
AFRICA: AN EXPLORATION
OF THE LITERATURE
Charlene Mutamba
North Carolina State University
AHRD Conference 2014

2. OBJECTIVES
 Purpose of the Literature Review
 Method
 Article Search Procedure
 Selection Criteria
 Analysis
 Findings
 NHRD in sub-Saharan Africa
 The World Bank in sub-Saharan Africa




1960s
1980s
1990s
2000s
 Implications for HRD Research

3. PURPOSE OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW
 The purpose of this literature review is to explore the
influence of World Bank Policy on national human resource
development in sub-Saharan Africa.
 Explored the four dimensions
 Political system
 Economic System
 Social system &
 Education System
 This paper seeks to expand the view of NHRD in Africa by
showing how policy developed at the World Bank affects
local HRD practices.
 The World Bank is important because they are the leading
global investor in education which makes it worth exploring.

4. METHOD
 Research Questions
 What does the literature say about World Bank human
resource development policy in sub-Saharan Africa?
 What does the literature say about national human
resource development (NHRD) policy in sub-Saharan
Africa?
 What does the literature say about human resource
development initiatives that have been influenced by the
World Bank?
 Selection Criteria
 Initial search yielded 322 articles
 43 journal articles, research reports and book chapters
selected

5. ANALYSIS
 Literature reviewed through content analysis and
identification of major themes
 World Bank policy went through
 Periods of manpower analysis
 Then focus on vocational education
 And now basic education

6. FINDINGS
 NHRD in Sub-Saharan Africa
 Main source of funding for education and training are central
government grants
 Nearly all sub-Saharan African countries; public training
systems are the leading source of structured, pre -employment
training and formal sector training (Ziderman, 2001).
 1960s and 1970s WB encouraged growth of large capital and
import intensive operations that required highly skilled and
experienced managers and technicians.
 National training systems are small, ineffective and focused on
industrial and service occupations but agriculture accounts for
more than half of the gross national product (GNP)

7. FINDINGS
 World Bank in Sub-Saharan Africa
 Provides interest free loans and grants to governments of
the poorest nations
 Use ‘knowledge economy’ as the most important factor in
economic development
 Believe in strong human capital base and effective
national innovative system.

8. FINDINGS
 The 1960s
 Focus on manpower development through vocational
education in secondary schools, colleges prior to
employment and in enterprises
 NHRD was driven by human capital theory and education
and training to increase productivity and economic
development (Psacharopolous, 2006).
 Used human capital measurements in its analytic work
(Heyneman, 2003).

9. FINDINGS
 The 1980s
 Sub-Saharan Africa received $2 per capita in external
assistance for education, about twice that for other regions
 Rate of return methodologies favored vocational over
academic education (Heyneman, 2012)
 However, a shift was also occurring
 Increase in private cost for attending universities
 introduction of loans for higher education instead of
government funding
 Higher returns in basic education than higher education
 Lack of employment for TSVD graduates made it less popular

10. FINDINGS
 The 1990s
 After the World Conference on Education in
1990, universal primary education became important.
 From 2000 universal primary education became a
Millennium Development Goal (MDG)
 After global economic woes of the 1990s WB advocated
reduction in public sector spending
 Economic Structural Adjustment Programs introduced
 Establishment of autonomous training agencies

11. FINDINGS
 The 2000s
 WB began to focus on lifelong learning which
encompasses adult training and development through
 Distance education
 Open learning
 Use of technology e.g. African Virtual University (AVU)
 Support Individual country initiatives
 Youth Opportunities Program in Uganda
 Technical and Vocational Vouchers Program in Kenya

12. IMPLICATIONS FOR HRD
 Need to explore how NHRD is implemented in various contexts
(McLean, 2004).
 Need to develop and implement theories based on culture and
needs of individual countries (Sydhagen &
Cunningham, 2007).
 Provide policy makers with a perspective of how external
influences shape local NHRD policy and the ability to unleash
human resources for economic benefit
 It is important for policy makers to understand World Bank
policy implications for individual and regional and global
economies.

13. CONCLUSION
 The government in most Sub-Saharan countries will
continue to play a central role in funding education and
training
 Human capital development will continue to be an
essential ingredient for economic growth (Chen &
Dahlman, 2005)
 It is important for HRD researchers to explore how policy
is shaped in different national, regional and international
contexts .