Using data from two rounds of the Malawi Schooling and Adolescent Survey, this research note examines consistency of retrospective reporting on the timing and sequencing of sexual initiation, school leaving, and marriage. The analysis, which compares reporting of events both within and between...

In the U.S. and other high-income countries, where most of the population lives in urban areas, there is intense scholarly and program interest in the effects of household and neighborhood living standards on health. Yet very few studies of developing-country cities have examined these issues....

This paper presents findings of an investigation into the effects of living-standards and relative poverty on children’s schooling in urban and rural areas of Senegal. To measure living standards, we apply a multiple-indicator, multiple-cause (MIMIC) factor-analytic model to a set of proxy...

Books reviewed in this article: Copyright 2003 by The Population Council, Inc..

Female circumcision is widespread in Egypt. Research suggests that the practice persists because of a belief that circumcision will moderate female sexuality, that it will assure a girl's marriagability, and that it is sanctioned by Islam. Using data from a nationally representative survey of...

This paper explores inequalities in education across sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest continent. Although we primarily focus on primary school completion rates, some attention is also given to measures of basic literacy as a more proximate indicator of human capital acquisition. Using data from...