This paper demonstrates that the delivery of hardware inputs to Ghana’s basic education system – building classrooms and supplying textbooks – has had a substantial impact on higher enrollments and better learning outcomes. The Bank’s support for school building has been a major factor...

Official flows account for close to half of capital flows to developing countries, and close to 90 per cent of receipts for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper documents trends in these official flows over the last three decades. The most striking trend has been declining aid volume. Following two...

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Acronyms and Abbreviations -- Executive Summary -- Part I Africa's Poverty Problem -- 1. A First View -- The Growth of African Poverty -- The Danger of Overgeneralizing -- Conclusion -- 2. Different Poverty Concepts Can Point in Different...

The multifaceted nature of the poverty problem, and the widening gap between the levels of human well-being in Africa, compared with the other developing regions, are the central themes of this report. The key elements of poverty reduction strategies in the region are reviewed, pointing at the...