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This paper looks at how countries have mobilized additional resources for education and assesses their impact on access and learning outcomes, using the World Bank's new Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling measure. The paper shows that global spending on education has risen significantly over the past two decades, although spending as a share of gross domestic product has remained relatively unchanged, at about 4.5 percent. However, global trends mask large differences across regions and country income groups. For example, low-income countries recorded the largest increases in terms of the share of GDP spent on education, but the absolute amount they devoted to education remained low compared to other countries. Economic growth has been the main driver of increases in public education spending. Yet, countries that achieved the largest and most rapid spending increases did this through a combination of increases in overall government revenues, a greater prioritization of education in the government budget as well as healthy economic growth. Increases in public education spending did not generally result in major improvements in average education outcomes. Using the available data, the paper shows that a doubling of government spending per child led to an increase in learning-adjusted years of schooling of only half a year. Preliminary findings also show that countries with lower efficiency and spending are expected to get the most from increases in spending in improved education outcomes. The paper concludes by outlining an approach that allows countries to assess their potential for increasing education funding and the expected effects on their education outcomes, based on benchmarks drawing from the data of comparable countries. It also underscores the urgent need to improve data on public education spending and education outcomes, to extend this analysis to cover a wider set of countries and increase the robustness of country-level benchmarks. [This paper is a product of the Education Global Practice.]

The number of countries that regularly participate in international large-scale assessments has increased sharply over the past 15 years, with the share of countries participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment growing from one-fifth of countries in 2000 to over one-third of countries in 2015. What accounts for this increase? This paper explores the evidence for three broad explanations: globalization of assessments, increasing technical capacity for conducting assessments, and increased demand for the microeconomic and macroeconomic data from these assessments. Data were compiled from more than 200 countries for this analysis, for six time periods between 2000 and 2015, yielding more than 1,200 observations. The data cover each country's participation in each of six cycles of PISA as it relates to the country's level of economic development, region, prior experience with assessment, and OECD membership. The results indicate that the odds of participation in PISA are markedly higher for OECD member countries, countries in the Europe and Central Asia region, high- and upper-middle-income countries, and countries with previous national and international assessment experience; the paper also finds that regional assessment experience is unrelated to PISA participation.

A multinational, multidisciplinary team examined the impact of globalization on education, training, and small and medium sized enterprise development in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The study focused on the following issues: developing a learner-led competitiveness approach; building learning enterprises; education for microenterprises and macroeconomic growth; and training for self-employment and competitiveness. The study documented the importance of learning-led competitiveness and identified obstacles to development of learning enterprises in all three countries. The following are among the 12 recommendations offered to national governments and international agencies with development concerns: (1) insert learning-led competitiveness into development debates; (2) understand the implications of globalization better; (3) address the range of barriers to development of learning enterprises; (4) consider interenterprise linkages and the role of learning therein; (5) place learning-led competitiveness at the heart of small enterprise development policy; (6) broaden the universal primary education vision; (7) construct a curriculum for competitiveness; (8) improve public training's ability to support competitive self-employment; (9) empower training providers to be more market responsive; and (10) emphasize skills transfer from large to small firms. (The bibliography lists 139 references. Brief profiles and addresses of the research team members and a list of project papers are appended.) (MN)

This report offers numerous cross-sectoral explorations in the context of health and human resources analyses in Africa. Intended as a resource document for funding agencies, program managers, and policy makers in Africa, the study aims to spark interest in using basic education to foster behavior conducive to broad-based, sustainable economic development. The report presents findings and analysis of research carried out in missions to Botswana, The Gambia, and Senegal from December 1992 to October 1993. The paper evaluates and documents lessons learned from programs designed to integrate health, population/family planning, environmental issues, privatization, and democracy education into basic education curricula in African nations. The first section of the report discusses recent findings about the way students learn and how this research affects curriculum development, curriculum and instruction, and curriculum and evaluation. In the second section three case studies outline the curriculum development process in Botswana, The Gambia, and Senegal. The third section of the report presents recommendations and observations. An annotated bibliography of programs and materials is included in the appendix. (EH)

This publication contains a set of five case studies and two analytical overview chapters that lay the foundation for a deeper understanding of the process of educational policy formation in Africa. Reflecting developments until late 1992, the cases include Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Mali, and Senegal. The articles describe and analyze current approaches to educational policy formation. Specifically, the case studies examine the policy-making process, the policy product, and the policy environment. Each of the cases contains a summary table of key policy events and a detailed bibliography of the major educational policy documents. Most cases provide a more detailed description of policy making in recent years, including an analysis of the role of major donors, the influences of political and economic events at the national level, and the extent that external factors have driven internal policy making. The contents are: (1) "Introduction and Overview" (David R. Evans); (2) "Case Summaries" (Jeanne Moulton); (3) "Education Policy Formation in Anglophone Africa: The Work of Education Commissions" (Ash Hartwell); (4) "Education Policy Formation in Botswana: The Transformation of Traditional Politics" (Jakes Swartland and Ash Hartwell); (5) "Education Policy in Tanzania: Self-Reliance and Dependence" (Joel Samoff); (6) "Education Policy Formation in Uganda: Continuity Amid Change" (David R. Evans and W. Senteza Kajubi); (7) "Education Policy Formation in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa" (Francois Orivel and Christopher Shaw); (8) "Education Policy Formation in Mali: As a Response to Political Crisis" (Mamadou Bagayoko and Jeff Hittenberger); and (9) "Education Policy Formation in Senegal: Evolutionary Not Revolutionary" (William M. Rideout, Jr. and Mamadou Bagayoko). References accompany each chapter. (LMI)

Recent survey data from Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is used to investigate gender differences in education and labor market participation. Previous researchers believed that women in Cote d'Ivoire were less likely than men to work for wages because of child-related obligations and low wage rates. This report contradicts this commonly held view by finding that women's limited participation is attributed, at least in part, to their having less education. A model based on the simultaneous determination of wages and choice of participation in the labor market is presented and is claimed to be more accurate than the common practice of treating these variables separately. The study also focuses on the differences between males and females in access to schooling. Numerous figures and tables of statistical data appear throughout the report. (DB)

African nations have been experiencing rapid rates of urbanization accompanied by serious problems of urban unemployment due to the rate of rural-urban migration and the lack of an adequate understanding of the migration process for economic policy formulation. The aim of this paper was to review the present knowledge of African rural-urban migration, suggesting future directions for improved methodology and theory for economic research on migration. Focus was on: (1) Migrants (identity) and the Migrant Process; (2) Determinants of Rural-Urban Migration (noneconomic factors and income differentials); (3) Implications of Migration for Economic Development (distortions in factor markets, migration as capital transfer, and externalities associated with migration). The literature revealed that younger, better educated people have dominated rural-urban migration in Africa; economic motives have been important in determining the rate of rural-urban migration (little agreement as to the relevant economic variables in the decision to migrate); divergence between the private and social returns of migration (almost no research establishing the divergence magnitude). Future migration theory should include the human capital approach; methodology should utilize sample survey techniques, rather than unreliable census data, and migration research should be linked with policy concerning education, population distribution, industrial decentralization, and rural-urban labor markets. (JC)

Urban and rural small scale industry and employment generation in Sierra Leone, Africa were studied via a 2 phase procedure. Phase 1 data collection (March-June, 1974) involved a random sampling procedure based on locality size. The following information was obtained from each of the localities (cities, towns, and villages) and "enumeration areas" (200 families) surveyed: (1) type of activity; (2) number of workers, including the proprietor, hired workers, and apprentices; (3) type of workshop; (4) number and kind of machines used. Phase 1 results indicated Sierra Leone small scale industry was extensive both in terms of establishment number and employment. Establishments were found to be small (1.9 workers per industry) and predominantly rural (95 percent). Activity composition (tailoring, carpentry, gara dyeing, and baking) varied considerably by location, an indication of the importance of making distinctions between industries in urban and rural areas. Still in progress, Phase 2 involves enumeration twice weekly of a sample of 366 industrial establishment during a 1 year period (1974-1975) for purposes of determining key structural parameters of the rural small scale industrial sector and the intersectoral linkages uniting this sector with other parts of the economy, thereby identifying major determinants of the demand for labor in rural small scale industry. (JC)

Employment problems in Africa were examined with special emphasis on rural employment and migration within the context of overall economic development. A framework was provided for analyzing rural employment in development; that framework was used to analyze empirical information from Africa; and theoretical issues were raised in analyzing rural employment and migration in economic development. The framework consisted of a micro-economic analysis of the rural labor market; an analysis of rural urban migration; and an aggregate analysis of rural employment as influenced by interaction in the product and factor markets of four sectors--urban, large and small scale; rural nonfarm; and agriculture. Results showed deficiencies in micro-level information (role of the nonfarm sector and farm mechanization); migration information (rural-urban income differentials, capital transfer measurements, and migration elasticity); and established macro-models (they lacked adequate employment focus, were partial equilibrium analyses of more complex problems, and reflected institutional assumptions not widely applicable in the African context). Recommendations emphasized development of better theory and collection of more solid micro-level data, specifically further research on rural employment, off farm employment, and migration. (JC)

This paper deals with one aspect of technical change in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): the production of scientific and technical knowledge. Part I presents a quantitative view of the scientific output in SSA based on data from the Science Citation Index that provides information on scientific publications and citations by field and by country. Science universities are the focus of scientific research and training in SSA, Part II analyzes enrollments and outputs of universities in SSA in the area of science and engineering to ascertain their future role in fostering science and engineering. Any increase in the quantity and quality of university outputs in science and engineering will require the upgrade of the level of scientific and mathematics knowledge of the pool of entrants to higher education. Part III presents a picture of science education in secondary schools in a selected number of countries in SSA based on answers to a specially designed questionnaire. Part IV formulates a strategy for science and education in SSA and the possible role of the World Bank in this strategy. (Author/PR)

Industrial expansion remains essential for the development and structural transformation of most sub-Saharan African economies. The advantages of industrialization go beyond the provision of manufactured goods and the diversification of exports to the modernization of society. Growth rates in formal manufacturing tell little about the economic benefits and sustainability of the industrialization process in Africa. Industrial development is beset by a pattern of negative interaction among policy incentives, capabilities, and institutions that has held back growth and, in some cases, led to a vicious spiral of decline. The region has a rich supply of natural resources and primary export products, but only a tiny core of industrial skills. It has built up physical capacity too quickly for its capabilities, institutions, and infrastructures to cope. The industries that have been set up have been highly protected, tightly controlled, and, in many cases, run by incompetent public sector organizations. The stock of skills and technical knowledge needed to manage these industries has grown, but not rapidly enough to lead to substantial gains in efficiency. Each country can act in some fashion to improve conditions in policy incentives, capabilities, and institutions, including implementation of a policy of selective intervention, education and training to produce trained workers, stimulation of technological activity relevant to manufacturing industries, and building up of management capabilities. (Contains 35 references.) (YLB)

Small-scale industry in Sierra Leone, Africa was examined in terms of: labor intensity; output generated per unit of capital; generation of positive economic profits by small-scale industry groups/processes; and seasonal and locational variations. Key analytical issues were the nature of small-scale industry supply and demand processes. Data were obtained from 270 firms (66% randomly selected from localities of 2,000 or more and 33% purposively selected to ensure a spectrum of production techniques). Some major results were: small-scale industries accounted for 95% of the employment and about 43% of the value added of the entire industrial sector; 95% of the establishments, 86% of the employment, and 75% of the value added were generated by rural small-scale industries; there were variations in small-scale industry annual mean output and value added, level of activity, seasonal patterns, magnitude of capital input, amount of excess capacity (the highest amount was in rural localities); there were modest initial capital requirements; the apprentice/proprietor labor supply served as the primary source of training; demand for small-scale industry products came from rural and urban consumers, backward and forward production linkages with agriculture, and exports; the more traditional production processes generated both a higher output and a larger amount of employment per unit of scarce capital than large-scale industry. (JC)

In addition to describing how training programs for African refugees fail to meet the needs of women (who along with children are the majority of refugees), this document offers guidelines for improving the programs and, thus, the productivity and incomes of women refugees. The first section, called "Women Refugees: The Overlooked Majority," describes problems with current training programs. The second section, "Selected Experiences," reviews a sample of training projects in Somalia, the Sudan, Zaire, Djibouti, Lesotho, and Kenya that are either designed exclusively for women or that include training services for women. Section three relates some common findings among programs. Guidelines for improving refugee training programs are provided in the fourth section, and a list of 18 references concludes the document. The guidelines include suggestions to conduct needs assessments regularly because needs change from those of urgent survival to those that emerge in more stable situations; provide child care for trainees; select the training objectives that the women trainees support; consider supporting small scale enterprises in areas where long-term business development is not relevant; and offer training only for occupations that are in demand, including those considered to be nontraditional for women. (CML)

This document contains information about and papers from meetings of educational practitioners and policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and the Arab States and a collective consultation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on literacy and education for all. Contents (arranged by region) are as follows: "1996 Jomtien Declaration on Adult Education and Lifelong Learning"; "The Bank Has a Re-Think"; "Maoris: A Longtime Educative Tradition" (Nora Rameka); interviews and reports from parts of Asia; "Intellectual Responsibility in Development"; "Declaration on Adult Education and Lifelong Learning"; "Setting Up a Programme Is Not Enough" (Alice Tiendrebeogo); "A Book for Six Inhabitants" (Antonio da Silva); "Peace in the Land of Blue Plastic" (Uwizeyimana Adorata); "Unwanted Gifts" (Ousmane Faty Ndongo); "Backing the Commitment of African Intellectuals" (A. Niameogo); "South African Adult Education Post-1994" (Joe Samuels); interviews; "Education of Young People and Adults to Consolidate Democracy"; "Declaration and Recommendations of the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Preparatory Conference"; "Read the Word..." (Sergio Haddad); "We Also Count!" (Lola Cendales); "Calandria" (Rosa Maria Alfaro Moreno); interviews; "The Role of NGOs in the Transformation of Adult Education in Latin America" (Jorge Osorio Vargas); "'Everyone Has to Learn Everything'" (Ximena Machicao Barbery); "Adult Education, Society and the Strengthening of Democracy" (Jose Rivero); "We Learned..." (Ximena Eugenia Paniagua Padilla);"Defining Cultural Identities"; conference report; "Is Literacy Neglected?" (Serge Wagner); "Creative Protagonists: The Role of Environmental Pedagogy" (P. Orefice); "An Already Long State--Civil Society Dialogue" (Anne Depuydt); "Masks""Meeting with Mr. D. Lenarduzzi"; "The New Modern Concept of Adult Education in Russia" (V. Onushkin); "Adult Learners' Week" (Alan Tuckett); "A Strengthened Partnership"; "The Hamburg NGO Platform on Adult Learning for the 21st Century"; "Vocational Education and Training" (Ulf Fredriksson); "You Can't Tie Up a Bundle of Firewood with One Hand" (Mariam Kone Traore); "Turning the Disadvantaged into Free Decision-Makers" (Ton Redegeld); "Some of the Contributions of Non-Formal Teaching to Formal Teaching" (Max Cloupet); "Adult Education and the Changing World of the Workplace" (D. Kahler); "Growing Together through Partnership" (Adama Ouane); "Beyond Programmes: Commitment, Values and NGOs" (Clinton Robinson); "Constructing Society"; "Arab Declaration on Adult Education"; "Campaigning for All Rights" (Aicha Barki); "Adolescent Women and Civic Society in MENA (the Middle East and North Africa)" (Frank Dall); "Culture and Spirituality" (Bacher Bakri); "The Emergence of a Civil Society" (Kacem Bensalah); interviews; "A Society Which Includes Women" (Aicha Belarbi); "The Socio-political Dimension of Gender: A Tool for Fair Development" (Marcela Ballara); and "Using Modern Technology Is Almost a Second Nature" (Mark Tennant). (MN)

In principle, the emergence of National Information Policy (NIP) as a framework for developing information resources and institutions was welcomed by most countries in Africa with a messianic zeal. However, most of these countries, particularly those in the Sub-Sahara region, were unable to correspondingly match their zeal with concrete efforts aimed at enunciating and implementing the policy. This situation is not unconnected with mitigating factors and certain development peculiarities of some of the countries, which are discussed in this paper. Against the background of the above factors and peculiarities, most countries in the sub-region suddenly found themselves at a crossroads with the emergence of the information society that is typified by the increasing prevalence and convergence of information and communications technologies (ICTs). Thus the need for these countries to reappraise the concept of NIP and to embrace the national information and communications infrastructure (NICI) initiative is discussed in the wider context of national and regional development objectives. The challenges of the knowledge age are also articulated in the light of the way forward for development in Africa. The paper concludes that the alternative to African countries' failure to address these challenges will be for them to remain attached to the apron string of donor agencies and countries in perpetuity. (Contains 13 references.) (Author/MES)

Whereas women carry the primary responsibility for food production in Africa, development agencies have devoted minimal resources to researching the impact of their policies and new techniques on the well-being of Africa's women farmers. C. K. Eicher (1995) and M. Smale (1995) call this the invisible factor because the gender-related constraints that cover women's productivity are seldom mentioned as explanation for Africa's food security problems. There is a need, therefore, to mobilize and empower women in Africa, and to remove the constraints by maximizing their productive capabilities in food production. In trying to change women's economic position and contribute to Africa's agricultural development, women face problems such as lack of education and failure to attain credit. This paper examines the barriers that African women face in their struggle to feed their families and the continent. It further paper discusses suggestions for overcoming these barriers and cites examples where these barriers have been relaxed. (Contains 16 references.) (BT)

This paper discusses the role information can play in the development of African countries in the 21st century. It stresses that development information can only be guaranteed when libraries in Africa computerize their systems, form networks for resource sharing, and take advantage of the benefits of information technology (IT), especially CD-ROM and the Internet. An in-depth review of the information management climate of African libraries was made, and this was found to be unfavorable. Problems inhibiting IT application by African libraries include apathy and inadequate government funding, undeveloped information and communication infrastructure, and shortage of technical manpower. Despite the bottlenecks, African libraries need to efficiently and effectively manage information in the 21st century in order to facilitate technology transfer, support education and research, and project Africa's achievements to the rest of the world. Considering the widespread democratization in Africa, blueprints for improved economy, better provision of information infrastructure, and progress already made in IT application and networking, it was established that the chances of African libraries automating their services in the 21st century are very bright. The paper concludes that the challenge for taking positive steps to promote modern information management in the new millennium is not only for African libraries, but for the world at large. (Contains 24 references.) (Author/MES)