International higher education: Bridging academia and global policy development at the world bank

Abstract

It is not unusual, regardless of field or issue, for research done by academics not to make an impression or impact on global policy development. This challenge is particularly relevant in examining higher education as a sphere of international development policy. This chapter utilizes the experience of the World Bank to illustrate the links between academic research and international higher education policy and concludes by highlighting how the work of Philip Altbach has been relevant to the higher education efforts of the World Bank, most notably in the past decade, illustrating the genuine influence Altbach has had on higher education around the world.