Primary

In its Vision 2040, Uganda recognizes that transforming Ugandan society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country, will depend on the country’s capacity to strengthen, inter alia, its human resources, particularly among young Ugandans preparing to enter the labour force for the first time. However, in order to exploit this potential, the younger generations need to be equipped with globally competitive skills, relevant knowledge and positive attitudes.

In low-income countries, private schools are perceived as superior alternatives to the public sector, often improving achievement at a fraction of the cost. It is unclear whether private schools are as effective in middle-income countries where the public sector has relatively more resources. To address this gap, this paper takes advantage of lottery-based admissions in first grade for a Mexico City private school that targets and subsidizes attendance for low-income children.

Education is central to the development of human capital. Vietnam has made significant progress. This paper reviews existing research on the returns to education and makes the case for investment in schooling. In Vietnam, the returns to schooling are 10 percent overall. The returns to primary and secondary education have declined over time and are lower than the regional average. The returns to secondary education are low, but not much lower than the regional average. The returns to tertiary education are high, have increased considerably, and are about 20 percent.

Economic performance in 2018 has been mixed. The data that are available suggest some areas of softening in the economy.1 Foreign direct investment declined to 2 percent of GDP in 2017, down from about 5 percent in 2014. The current account deficit has increased to 3.8 percent of GDP in the year ending September 2018, from 2.2 in the preceding 12 months. Recent Bank of Tanzania data confirm lower cashew exports and 2017 decline in non-traditional exports has continued into 2018, which raises concerns on prospects for longer term growth.

Results-based financing (RBF) has gained popularity in the international development community because of its potential to make education spending more effective and efficient. In the education sector, RBF has been primarily applied to four levels: teachers; students and families; schools; and governments. The results overall have been mixed, with some notable successes and some disappointing experiences. This report explores when and how RBF can help achieve better impacts in education.

Over the last two decades, Mexico has experienced macroeconomic stability, an open trade regime, and substantial progress in education. Yet average workers' earnings have stagnated, and earnings of those with higher schooling have fallen, compressing the earnings distribution and lowering the returns to education. This paper argues that distortions that misallocate resources toward less-productive firms explain these phenomena, because these firms are less intensive in well-educated workers compared with more-productive ones.

Indonesia has made remarkable strides in key human development indicators over the past few decades. Primary school enrollment is close to universal for both boys and girls, and the child mortality rate has declined rapidly (World Bank 2017). Nevertheless, infant mortality, child malnutrition, maternal mortality, and educational learning quality have all remained challenges in Indonesia compared with other countries in the region (World Bank 2015).

This paper compiles project-level data from the World Bank's lending history to describe patterns and the composition of its portfolio. The paper focuses particularly on the effect of countries' transition from International Development Association to International Bank for Reconstruction and Development status, which marks the point when countries start borrowing at near market rates, on lending for human development sectors (education, health and social protection).

Mali, Chad, Niger and Guinea have some of the lowest rates of secondary school completion in the world for girls. They also have some of the highest rates of child marriage and early childbearing. While some other countries in West and Central Africa are making rapid progress toward better educational attainment for girls and fewer child marriages, progress is uneven across the four focal countries. Among them, Guinea has achieved the largest gains over the last few decades, but progress in Chad, Mali, and Niger has been slow and in some cases inexistent.