IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/devpol/v39y2021i5p865-889.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Inequalities in higher education in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A scoping review of the literature

Author

Listed:
  • Simone Reinders
  • Marleen Dekker
  • Jean‐Benoît Falisse

Abstract

Motivation Higher education is regarded as a key instrument to enhance socioeconomic mobility and reduce inequalities. Recent literature reviews have examined inequalities in the higher education systems of high‐income countries, but less is known about the situation in low‐ and middle‐income countries, where higher education is expanding fast. Purpose The article reviews the academic literature on higher education in low‐ and middle‐income countries using a research framework inspired by social justice and capability approaches. It considers the financial, sociocultural, human and political resource domains on which people draw, and how they relate to access, participation and outcomes in higher education. Methods A literature search for studies explicitly discussing in‐country inequalities in higher education revealed 22 publications. Substantial knowledge gaps remain, especially regarding the political (and decision‐making) side of inequalities; the ideologies and philosophies underpinning higher education systems; and the linkages between resource domains, both micro and macro. Findings The review highlights key elements for policy‐makers and researchers: (1) the financial lens alone is insufficient to understand and tackle inequalities, since these are also shaped by human and other non‐financial factors; (2) sociocultural constructs are central in explaining unequal outcomes; and (3) inequalities develop throughout one’s life and need to be considered during higher education, but also before and after. The scope of inequalities is wide, and the literature offers a few ideas for short‐term fixes, such as part‐time and online education. Policy implications Inclusive policy frameworks for higher education should include explicit goals related to (in)equality, which are best measured in terms of the extent to which certain actions or choices are feasible for all. Policies in these frameworks, we argue, should go beyond providing financial support, and also address sociocultural and human resource constraints and challenges in retention, performance and labour market outcomes. Finally, they should consider relevant contextual determinants of inequalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Simone Reinders & Marleen Dekker & Jean‐Benoît Falisse, 2021. "Inequalities in higher education in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A scoping review of the literature," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(5), pages 865-889, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devpol:v:39:y:2021:i:5:p:865-889
    DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12535
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12535
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/dpr.12535?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claire Crawford & Paul Gregg & Lindsey Macmillan & Anna Vignoles & Gill Wyness, 2016. "Higher education, career opportunities, and intergenerational inequality," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 32(4), pages 553-575.
    2. Edward M. Sosu & Lauren N. Smith & Ninetta Santoro & Stephanie McKendry, 2018. "Addressing socioeconomic inequality in access to university education: an analysis of synergies and tensions in Scottish policy," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Estelle Herbaut & Koen Geven, 2019. "What Works to Reduce Inequalities in Higher Education? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi-)Experimental Literature on Outreach and Financial Aid," Working Papers hal-03456943, HAL.
    4. Paul Anand & Graham Hunter & Ron Smith, 2005. "Capabilities and Well-Being: Evidence Based on the Sen–Nussbaum Approach to Welfare," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 74(1), pages 9-55, October.
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/527ht1a96e837pq2dubgo2953q is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Handa, Sudhanshu & Gordon, Peter-John, 1999. "University admissions policy in a developing country: evidence from the University of the West Indies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 279-289, April.
    7. Herbaut,Estelle & Geven,Koen Martijn, 2019. "What Works to Reduce Inequalities in Higher Education ? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi-)Experimental Literature on Outreach and Financial Aid," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8802, The World Bank.
    8. Theocharis Kromydas, 2017. "Rethinking higher education and its relationship with social inequalities: past knowledge, present state and future potential," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Beladi, Hamid & Sinha, Chaitali & Kar, Saibal, 2016. "To educate or not to educate: Impact of public policies in developing countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 94-101.
    10. Sánchez, Alan & Singh, Abhijeet, 2018. "Accessing higher education in developing countries: Panel data analysis from India, Peru, and Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 261-278.
    11. Janet E. Lord & Michael Ashley Stein, 2018. "Pursuing Inclusive Higher Education in Egypt and Beyond through the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(4), pages 230-240.
    12. Peet, Evan D. & Fink, Günther & Fawzi, Wafaie, 2015. "Returns to education in developing countries: Evidence from the living standards and measurement study surveys," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 69-90.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Finger, Claudia & Solga, Heike & Ehlert, Martin & Rusconi, Alessandra, 2020. "Gender differences in the choice of field of study and the relevance of income information. Insights from a field experiment," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 65, pages 1-1.
    2. Fougère, Denis & Barone, Carlo & Pin, Clément, 2019. "Social origins, shared book reading and language skills in early childhood: evidence from an information experiment," CEPR Discussion Papers 14006, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Pietrzyk, Irena & Erdmann, Melinda, 2020. "Investigating the impact of interventions on educational disparities: Estimating average treatment effects (ATEs) is not sufficient," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 65, pages 1-1.
    4. Justin C. Ortagus & Melvin J. Tanner & Isaac McFarlin Jr., 2020. "Can Re-Enrollment Campaigns Help Dropouts Return to College? Evidence from Florida Community Colleges," NBER Working Papers 26649, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Kjetil Bjorvatn & Alexander W. Cappelen & Linda Helgesson Sekei & Erik Ø. Sørensen & Bertil Tungodden, 2020. "Teaching Through Television: Experimental Evidence on Entrepreneurship Education in Tanzania," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(6), pages 2308-2325, June.
    6. Martin Binder & Tom Broekel, 2011. "Applying a Non-parametric Efficiency Analysis to Measure Conversion Efficiency in Great Britain," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 257-281.
    7. Martins, Nuno, 2011. "Sustainability economics, ontology and the capability approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-4.
    8. Leßmann, Ortrud, 2011. "Empirische Studien zum Capability Ansatz auf der Grundlage von Befragungen: Ein Überblick," UFZ Discussion Papers 4/2011, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    9. Delaney, Judith M. & Devereux, Paul J., 2020. "Choosing differently? College application behavior and the persistence of educational advantage," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    10. Tanthaka Vivatsurakit & Jessica Vechbanyongratana, 2020. "Returns to education among the informally employed in Thailand," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, The Australian National University, vol. 34(1), pages 26-43, May.
    11. Li, Huan & Lin, Jiaying & Wu, Hongyu & Li, Zhaojun & Han, Mengxue, 2021. "“How do I survive exclusion?” Voices of students with disabilities at China’s top universities," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    12. Griewald, Yuliana & Rauschmayer, Felix, 2013. "Exploring a nature-related conflict from a capability perspective," UFZ Discussion Papers 7/2013, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    13. Yasser Razak Hussain & Pranab Mukhopadhyay, 2023. "How Much do Education, Experience, and Social Networks Impact Earnings in India? A Panel Data Analysis Disaggregated by Class, Gender, Caste and Religion," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    14. Vincenzo Carrieri & Apostolos Davillas & Andrew M. Jones, 2023. "Equality of opportunity and the expansion of higher education in the UK," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(4), pages 861-885, December.
    15. Man Si, 2015. "Intrafamily bargaining and love," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 771-789, December.
    16. Binder, Martin & Witt, Ulrich, 2012. "A critical note on the role of the capability approach for sustainability economics," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 721-725.
    17. Çetin Toraman & Güneş Korkmaz, 2023. "What is the “Meaning of School†to High School Students? A Scale Development and Implementation Study Based on IRT and CTT," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    18. Edward M. Sosu & Lauren N. Smith & Ninetta Santoro & Stephanie McKendry, 2018. "Addressing socioeconomic inequality in access to university education: an analysis of synergies and tensions in Scottish policy," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-8, December.
    19. Serneels, Pieter & Beegle, Kathleen & Dillon, Andrew, 2017. "Do returns to education depend on how and whom you ask?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 5-19.
    20. Hassani-Nezhad, Lena & Anderberg, Dan & Chevalier, Arnaud & Lührmann, Melanie & Pavan, Ronni, 2021. "Higher education financing and the educational aspirations of teenagers and their parents," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:devpol:v:39:y:2021:i:5:p:865-889. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/odioruk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.