Public spending has effects which are complex to trace and difficult to quantify. But the composition of public expenditure has become the key instrument by which development agencies seek to promote economic development. In recent years, the development assistance to heavily indebted poor...

"This book examines the main factors behind observed poverty changes in eight countries - Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. After reviewing the trends in income poverty and other, more direct measures of well-being (such as education, health, and...