Learning profiles, that track changes in student skills per year of schooling, often find shockingly low learning gains. Using data from three recent studies in South Asia and Africa, we show that a majority of students spend years of instruction with no progress on basics. We argue shallow...

Irresistible forces for increased labor mobility -- The fifth irresistible force : ghosts and zombies -- Immovable ideas : myths and truths -- Accommodating forces and ideas to achieve development-friendly labor -- Mobility -- Conclusion : let their people come

The incredibly low levels of learning and the generally dysfunctional public sector schooling systems in many (though not all) developing countries are the result of a capability trap (Pritchett et al. 2010). Two phenomena reinforce persistent failure of schooling systems to produce adequate...