With recent advances in high-resolution satellite imagery and machine vision algorithms, fine-grain geospatial data on population are now widely available: kilometer-by-kilometer, worldwide. In this paper, we showcase how researchers and policymakers in developing countries can leverage these...

The paper provides the first causal evidence of how access to education affects disability insurance (DI) claims among low-skilled youths. The research design exploits recent changes in high school eligibility criteria among a set of low-performing compulsory school graduates in Sweden. The...

Migration, both within and beyond borders, has become an increasingly prominent theme in domestic and international debates, and is the topic of the 2009 Human Development Report (HDR09). The starting point is that the global distribution of capabilities is extraordinarily unequal, and that this...

Evidence is considered on differences in access to education and in learning achievement within the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The situation inherited from the communist period is first summarized: there were some significant disparities with, for...

The fifth Regional Monitoring Report continues the Centre's pioneering work of emphasizing the social side of the transition in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, in particular the needs and rights of children. The Report presents detailed information on changes to...

Based on analysis of reading performance data from 475 third-graders in Peru, this study makes recommendations on improving reading tests, choice of reading standards, and how to present the results at the school and individual levels. The paper reviews the literature on using reading skills...

This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) on Djibouti explains past strategies and the PRSP formulation process. Djibouti suffers from a gross lack of reliable health statistics. Available information gives only a fragmented picture of the reality, but globally, it reveals a difficult health...

This paper examines Sierra Leone’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Sierra Leone’s PRSP considers a number of short- to medium-term challenges that should not only impact immediately on the living conditions of people but also lay solid foundations for addressing the...

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) on Burkina Faso explains economic growth and persistence. The government intends to strengthen the foundations of macroeconomic and financial stability, and enhance competitiveness in promising sectors. Success in meeting the expected objectives of...

No country has achieved sustained economic development without investment in education. Thus, education policy can play a vital role in facilitating development. But which types of schooling-secondary or tertiary-should public policy promote? This paper develops an analytical framework to...