EMPIRICAL

Monthly Brief on Relevant Data for Leaders in Government

September 2017

Investing in Public Infrastructure: Roads Versus Schools

Despite investment in education appearing to be a more pressing need in many developing countries, spending on roads often exceeds that on schools. This column argues that the different pace with which roads and schools contribute to economic growth is central to governments’ optimal allocation decision. Investment in schools tends to lead to a larger long-run increase in output, but the effects are more delayed than for investment in roads. This trade-off contributes to the bias towards roads, in particular when government concerns about debt sustainability and policymakers’ myopia are taken into consideration.

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What Do Teachers Know and Do? Does it Matter? Evidence from Primary Schools in Africa

“School enrollment has universally increased over the past 25 years in low-income countries. However, enrolling in school does not guarantee that children learn. A large share of children in low-income countries learn little, and they complete their primary education lacking even basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills—the so-called "learning crisis." This paper uses data from nationally representative surveys from seven Sub-Saharan African countries, representing close to 40 percent of the region's total population, to investigate possible answers to this policy failure by quantifying teacher effort, knowledge, and skills.” READ MORE>>

Framework For Health Systems Development Towards Universal Health Coverage in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals in the African Region

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted to guide global development, with health embodied in the third Sustainable Development Goal. Universal Health Coverage underpins the achievement of the health and related SDG targets. Health systems strengthening for universal health coverage was identified by WHO as one of the key instruments for the change offered by the 2030 Agenda… 4. This action framework presents the approach Member States need to consider in order to strengthen and realign their health systems to ensure that they are able to achieve their health development goals. It represents a foundational plan for Member States to ensure that health is playing its role in facilitating movement towards sustainable development.” READ MORE>>

Health Financing Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Government Ownership or Donors’ Influence? A Scoping Review of Policymaking Processes

The rise on the international scene of advocacy for universal health coverage (UHC) was accompanied by the promotion of a variety of health financing policies. Major donors presented health insurance, user fee exemption, and results-based financing policies as relevant instruments for achieving UHC in Sub-Saharan Africa. The “donor-driven” push for policies aiming at UHC raises concerns about governments’ effective buy-in of such policies. Because the latter has implications on the success of such policies, we searched for evidence of government ownership of the policymaking process. READ MORE>>

Do You Have Notable Health or Education Developments in Your Country to Report?

If you have a substantive data based report on recent noteworthy health or education develoments in your country, the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program would like to receive a copy. We may include it in a future edition of Empirical to inform your colleagues from the Ministerial Program. Please click the button below to send the report.

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