Lifelong Learning in the Global Knowledge Economy: Challenges for Developing Countries

by World Bank Group

The global knowledge economy is transforming the demands of the labor market in economies worldwide. It is placing new demands on citizens, who need more skills and knowledge to function in their day-to-day lives than can be acquired in formal education systems alone. Lifelong learning--from early childhood to retirement--is education for the knowledge economy, and it is as crucial in transition and developing economies as it is in the developed world. A roadmap for policymakers in developing countries to the key issues and challenges of education in a knowledge economy, this book explores the ways in which lifelong learning systems encourage growth. The authors discuss the changing nature of learning and the expanding role of the private sector in education and training world-wide. In a detailed and practical way, they consider the policy and financing options available to governments seeking to meet the lifelong needs of their learners.

168 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2003

About the author

The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and most famous development bank in the world and is an observer at the United Nations Development Group. The bank is based in Washington, D.C. and provided around $61 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2014 fiscal year. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Its five organizations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The World Bank's (the IBRD and IDA's) activities are focused on developing countries, in fields such as human development (e.g. education, health), agriculture and rural development (e.g. irrigation and rural services), environmental protection (e.g. pollution reduction, establishing and enforcing regulations), infrastructure (e.g. roads, urban regeneration, and electricity), large industrial construction projects, and governance (e.g. anti-corruption, legal institutions development). The IBRD and IDA provide loans at preferential rates to member countries, as well as grants to the poorest countries. Loans or grants for specific projects are often linked to wider policy changes in the sector or the country's economy as a whole. For example, a loan to improve coastal environmental management may be linked to development of new environmental institutions at national and local levels and the implementation of new regulations to limit pollution, or not, such as in the World Bank financed constructions of paper mills along the Rio Uruguay in 2006.