Elitism and meritocracy in developing countries R. Klitgaard Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1986,191 pp.
| Published date | 01 April 1990 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230100218 |
| Date | 01 April 1990 |
Book
reviews
249
The book is,
of
course, geared to a highly specific audience. While it themes may be relevant
to a variety
of
interventions (especially its emphasis on socio-economic concerns), the practical
utility
of
the book is limited to those directly related to resettlement programmes.
DAVID
S.
COWNIE
SIA PA C-Africa,
Gaborone, Botswana
ELITISM AND MERITOCRACY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
R.
Klitgaard
Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1986,191 pp.
This is not good book. It was issued in 1986, and some significant work on selection policies in
higher education (the book’s subtitle) has been done since its publication. Much
of
the work
on
which Klitgaard draws,
or
to which he makes reference, dates from more than a decade ago.
The 1988 World Bank Policy Study
on
Education in sub-Saharan Africa dealt quite fully with
the book’s main themes, and was able to draw on data which appear to be significantly more up
to date than Klitgaard’s sources. A measure
of
the range
of
research already undertaken is to
be found
in
Kenneth King’s forthcoming
Aid and Educational Research in Developing Coun-
tries.
King’s work has the merit
of
looking across the whole span
of
developing countries. Over one-
third
of
Klitgaard’s book is concerned with three case studies-an China, Indonesia and the
Philippines. (Klitgaard refers, in his Introduction, to ‘several substantial Asian case studies’,
and observes that short examples also appear from Brazil, Ecuador, Zambia, Swaziland, the
United States, and the Republic
of
South Africa). Throughout the book there are only about
a dozen references to sub-Saharan African countries. The ‘examples’ on Swaziland and Zam-
bia are rather curious inserts, one quoting local newspaper comment on a junior certificate
examination scandal, the other reporting a conversation with the Director of a Department
of
Technical Education and Vocational Training.
The book-which presumably is aimed at the North American market, given the very strong
emphasis on American references-is not easily read.
JOHN
THEAKSTONE
Higher Education Division, The British Council
YEARBOOK
OF
CO-OPERATIVE ENTERPRISE
Edited
by
J.E.
Bayley and E. Parnell
Plunkett Foundation, 31 St. Giles, Oxford, UK, 1988,181 pp.
This publication is ambitious, taking over from, and expanding upon, the
Yearbook of
Agricultural Co-operation
which had been published continuously since 1927. The aim
of
the
new yearbook is to cover the whole range
of
co-operation and co-operatives worldwide, whilst
still retaining a section devoted to an annual review
of
co-operation in the United Kingdom.
The other three sections
of
the yearbook cover the development potential
of
rural co-
operatives, the role
of
consumer co-operatives, and current issues in co-operative legislation.
All
of
this is included
in
181 pages, and comprises 19 articles from authors of widely differing
backgrounds and nationalities.
The editors state that their aim is to produce a more comprehensive publication. However,
it
must be questioned whether such a short book can properly cover such a wide diversity
of
topics. Certainly the individual articles vary significantly both in length and in scope
of
coverage. In this context, only seven
of
the nineteen contributors refer to the work
of
other
authors in their articles.
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