One of the key questions that arise in discussions of education decentralization, is how federal education resources should be allocated among the various states, and within states, among communities or schools. In general, there are two approaches: (1) bilateral negotiations between the federal...

This paper examines inequality patterns of school and teacher resources as well as student performance in the Philippines. School and teacher resources, measured by pupil classroom and teacher ratios and per-pupil teacher salary, became more unequal over time. Strikingly, a large portion of the...

Using statistical methods to adjust for a bias in selectivity, this paper analyzes the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of public schools and two types of private schools - elite and non-elite - in the Dominican Republic. Controlling for selection, it found that students in eighth...

A key consideration in the policy debate on the appropriate role of private schools in predominantly public school systems is cost effectiveness. The questions are: Do private school students learn more than their counterparts, and is it more or less expensive to educate students in private...

In the past, research findings indicated that most of the differences in student learning were due to socioeconomic factors, and that, therefore, the effect of direct educational interventions to reduce learning inequality was very limited. However, the authors show that learning achievement...

With the demand for schooling expected to increase and the tightening of fiscal constraints, changes will be necessary in order to meet ambitious educational targets. Instead of charging fees for public schools, a more cost-effective option is to rely on private schools to handle the growing...

In the highly centralized system of the Philippines, local funding provides the only source of flexibility to meet specific and urgent needs. The government in Manila, which pays all teacher salaries, finds it easier politically in times of fiscal belt-tightening to cut recurrent costs. Although...

Gonzalez and Paqueo examine the effects of budget stabilization funds--often called rainy-day funds--on the volatility of social spending and, for contrast, on nonsocial sector spending. They analyze the rainy-day funds of U.S. states. The authors find that rainy-day funds are ineffective in...

Paqueo and Gonzalez look at the determinants of health-seeking behavior of the Mexican population and within this context focus on the effect of ethnicity. They address the following questions: To what extent are the indigenous people at a disadvantage health care-wise and in what particular...

Past research often attributed most differences in student learning to socioeconomic factors, implying that the potential for direct educational interventions to reduce learning inequality was limited. The author shows that learning achievement can be improved through appropriately designed and...