Open defecation is exceptionally widespread in India, a county with puzzlingly high rates of child stunting. This paper reports a randomized controlled trial of a village-level sanitation program, implemented in one district by the government of Maharashtra. The program caused a large but...

Using a cohort approach, this paper examines educational attainment in Ghana and its potential determinants considering both educational attainment in the formal education system and participation in non-formal education in the form of adult literacy programs. The results indicate an overall...

Whatever the theoretical attractiveness of certain policy options, the fact that public employees are people who make independent decisions about their careers and lifestyles can set bounds on how well government agencies can deliver promised services, such as universal health care, including in...

There is an apparent consensus that the correct health policy in developing countries is public provision of a mix of preventive and simple curative services through low level health workers and facilities. But the strength of this consensus on the primary health care paradigm is in sharp...

Government spending on risk reduction could improve welfare in developing economies, either by alleviating a risk-market failure or by reducing uncertainty in otherwise distorted markets.As governments grow richer, the share of their GDP devoted to public spending rises. Public spending in the...

Chaudhury and Hammer report on a study in which unannounced visits were made to health clinics in Bangladesh with the intention of discovering what fraction of medical professionals were present at their assigned post. This survey represents the first attempt to quantify the extent of the...

This study examines the impact of a fee-waiver program for basic medical services on health care utilization in Armenia. Because of the reduction in public financing of health services and decentralization and increased privatization of health care provision, private out-of-pocket contributions...

The author applies to the health sector an approach to analyzing projects advocated in a recent paper by Devarajan, Squire, and Suthiwart-Narueput. In the health sector, a project evaluation should: 1) Establish a firm justification for public involvement. The author identifies a number of...