This report is devoted to the role and effectiveness of the state: what the state should do, how it should do it, and how it can do it better in a rapidly changing world. The pathways to an effective state are many and varied. The report provides a framework for guiding these efforts, in the form of a two-part strategy. The first part of the…

Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA), a joint UNESCO-UNICEF international education assessment initiative, obtains information on the "effectiveness of basic education provision[s] in terms of actual learning achievement." The empirical evidence from the 1999 MLA project countries provides both a diagnosis and possible actions to be…

The report summarizes statistical data on the total number of disabled people in the world; national estimates of the number of disabled in 14 countries; the status of children, disabled women, and families of disabled people; and the mentally disabled. Also summarized are trends in various countries (both developed and developing). (Author/MC)

Recent literature on Brazilian educational finance has documented low expenditure levels and problems of efficiency, efficacy, and equity. This paper analyzes financial data from Bahia state "municipios" and examines revenue and expenditure trends to explain variations in financial commitment across "municipios." Local interest…

Computes intercountry and intracountry inequalities in developing countries' school enrollment rates for three educational levels, using a 1960-86 UNESCO data set. Intercountry inequality is lowest at level one and highest at level three. Intercountry and intracountry inequalities are declining. Inequalities in female enrollments are greater for…

Why has science expanded more in some nations rather than others? The few studies addressing this issue have attributed variation in science to differences in economic development and religion. This article discusses additional explanations, including the impact of domestic political structure, colonialism, and world-system dependency. Also,…

This paper investigates the correlates of student performance in mathematics and dictation tests among schoolchildren in Indonesia. This is the first such study to use a new nationally representative sample of Indonesian primary-school students. Our dataset includes unique data on teacher absenteeism collected through direct observation, the first…

There has been little change in newborn mortality in the past 20 years, even through proven, cost-effective solutions exist to save many of these young lives. This report reviews the most recent data on the newborn, revealing the alarming poor health and quality of health care for mothers and newborns in virtually all impoverished countries. The…

Uses data on a large sample of secondary technical and vocational schools in Shanghai, China, to fit cost functions and evaluate the importance of economies of scale. The sample also included workers and general schools. The statistical analysis, limited to recurrent expenditure, unearthed economies of scale, particularly for technical and…

This paper analyzes the relationship between existing secondary and technical schools and employment in the modern private sector of the Ivory Coast. Enrollments in secondary and technical schools are examined, and the social demand for education, characteristics of the Ivorian labor market, and the matching of labor supply and demand are…

This book, one of a series that uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to outline the need for and provision of services (education, health, housing, electricity, roads, telecommunications, postal services, and police services) in each of the nine South African provinces, presents a global view or indicator of the simultaneous influence of the…

This book, one of a series that uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to outline the need for and provision of services (education, health, housing, electricity, roads, telecommunications, postal services, and police services) in each of the nine South African provinces, presents a global view or indicator of the simultaneous influence of the…

This book, one of a series that uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to outline the need for and provision of services (education, health, housing, electricity, roads, telecommunications, postal services, and police services) in each of the nine South African provinces, presents a global view or indicator of the simultaneous influence of the…

This book, one of a series that uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to outline the need for and provision of services (education, health, housing, electricity, roads, telecommunications, postal services, and police services) in each of the nine South African provinces, presents a global view or indicator of the simultaneous influence of the…

An extensive survey of empirical research on education as related to poverty, growth, and income distribution is presented, with the focus on 21 developing nations. The study uses the latest available data on alternative measures of income distribution, income shares of various population groups by income classes, and poverty ratios. The analysis…