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The growth of the income of the poor during a period of economic growth can only be measured by examining household survey data. A guide to interpreting estimates from household survey data of the income of the poor is presented.

Human capital investment in developing countries is thought to be significantly constrained by household resources. This paper studies the relationship between household resources and the demand for education using recent household survey data from Vietnam. The data cover a period, 1993-1998, of exceptional income growth in Vietnam, during which secondary school enrollment rose substantially. Using consumption expenditures to measure household wealth, we find a positive and significant relationship between changes in wealth and changes in the demand for education. This wealth effect persists even after controlling for locality-specific factors such as changes in education returns and the supply and quality of schools, and for the opportunity costs of schooling. JEL classification: I21; O15; O40 Keywords: Education; Human capital; Economic growth; Developing countries; Vietnam

This paper compares retrospective and prospective analyses of the effect of flip charts on test scores in rural Kenyan schools. Retrospective estimates suggest that flip charts raise test scores by up to 20% of a standard deviation. Yet prospective estimators based on a randomized trial provide no evidence that flip charts increase test scores. One interpretation is that the retrospective results suffered from omitted variable bias. If the direction of this bias were similar in other retrospective analyses of educational inputs in developing countries, the effects of inputs may be more modest than retrospective studies suggest. A difference-in-differences retrospective estimator seems to reduce bias, but it requires additional assumptions and is feasible for only some educational inputs. JEL classification: I21; O15 Keywords: Education; Flip charts; Developing countries; Kenya; Randomized trial; Program evaluation

The socioeconomic results of education on populations of developing countries is discussed.

Which socio-economic groups are most vulnerable to welfare declines during a macroeconomic shock? After clarifying the difference between poverty and vulnerability, this paper presents an analytical framework and applies it to panel data from Peru. Major findings are: (1) Households with better educated heads are less vulnerable; (2) Female headed households are no more vulnerable than male headed households; (3) Households with more children are more vulnerable; (4) Transfer networks that assist the poor in relatively stable periods do not protect them during a major shock, unless they originate from outside Peru; and (5) Peru's social security program is targeted neither to vulnerable nor to poor households, but other transfer programs are better targeted. Keywords: Poverty; Vulnerability; Macroeconomic shocks; Education; Household transfers; Peru

This paper examines the accuracy and usefulness of estimated rates of return to schooling based on the standard human capital model of Becker and Mincer. Regarding accuracy, it investigates whether failure to account for differences in ability and school quality lead to significant biases. Estimates using Ghanaian data confirm this possibility. Even when accurate, estimated rates of return to additional years of schooling may have limited policy implications; more useful for governments are rates of rerum to investments in school quality. The paper uses data on cognitive skills to estimate rates of return to three types of school quality improvements. Keywords: Returns to schooling; School quality; Investments in education; Ghana

The adequacy of household surveys conducted in developing countries is evaluated. Adequacy is determined by using seven factors, namely; country coverage, topical coverage, timeliness, sample, comparability, access and documentation, and quality. Results show the need for researchers and data-gatherers to increase data sets and use sophisticated econometric techniques to provide policymakers with better tools for policy analysis.

The Peruvian government was experimenting on economic reactivation policies in the 1980s. Changes in poverty, inequality and living standards in Lima, Peru in 1985-1990 are examined. Findings indicate the increase of poverty in Lima and that no improvement in living standards occurred. Real consumption levels dropped by more than 1/2, experienced especially by the poorest 10%. Health and education outcomes do not reflect the same decline despite lower levels of consumption.

I. Introduction A key policy concern for low-income countries is the cost effectiveness of alternative educational investments aimed at boosting student achievement. Would the marginal dollar be better spent providing [...]

The World Development Reports (WDR) and the Human Development Reports (HDR) have different approaches to evaluating poverty reduction, with WDR emphasizing income and HDR ephasizing nonincome aspects. Both approaches recognize the importance of nonincome goals measured by social indicators. Emphasizing changes in social indicators would increase their value in measuring human development.

This paper examines the problem of how to transfer money or other forms of assistance to poor households when one observes some characteristics of households, but not their incomes. This and related issues are often referred to as the targeting problem. The paper first sets out the problem formally as one of minimizing a poverty index given a fixed amount of money available for transfers. Assuming that household survey data are available which include accurate income and/or expenditure information, the solution for the problem is formulated as a non-linear mathematical programming exercise. Using household survey data from Cote d'Ivoire, the technique is applied to both urban and rural areas separately. The paper concludes with a general discussion and suggestions for future research.

Mother's education is often found to be positively correlated with child health and nutrition in developing countries, yet the causal mechanisms are poorly understood. Three possible mechanisms are: (1) Formal education directly teaches health knowledge to future mothers; (2) Literacy and numeracy skills acquired in school assist future mothers in diagnosing and treating child health problems; and (3) Exposure to modern society from formal schooling makes women more receptive to modern medical treatments. This paper uses data from Morocco to assess the role played by these different mechanisms. Mother's health knowledge alone appears to be the crucial skill for raising child health. In Morocco, such knowledge is primarily obtained outside the classroom, although it is obtained using literacy and numeracy skills learned in school; there is no evidence that health knowledge is directly taught in schools. This suggests that teaching of health knowledge skills in Moroccan schools could substantially raise child health and nutrition in Morocco. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), I. Introduction Child health is a key indicator of the quality of life in developing countries. Mother's years of education is often positively associated with improved child health and nutritional [...]

Research is presented describing the study of academic achievement in children and the correlation between nutrition and educational scores in primary school children.