Book review: Gregorutti, G., & Delgado, J. E. (Eds.). (2015). Private universities in Latin America: Research and innovation in the knowledge economy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Abstract

Established on a Napoleonic, professional training mission, universities in Latin America have not centered their activities in conducting research. This statement applies to traditional public universities, though Latin America’s leading universities boast some research tradition. Contemporary worldwide trends such as the increased economic value of knowledge, the demand of private firms to develop research and innovation, the multiplication of accountability stages, and the rise of new modes of academic activity have led public and private universities in Latin America to increase their research footprint. In most cases, public universities have driven this push. Private universities, rather than developing comprehensive research portfolios, tend to cover niches of research that are usually funded by international agencies or other non-governmental organizations. Thus, Private universities in Latin America: Research and innovation in the knowledge economy is mainly about outliers, what we might call the research underdogs of higher education (HE), and how they have grown due to or despite public policy.