This paper examines the progressivity of social sector expenditures and taxes in eight sub-Saharan African countries. It uses dominance tests to determine whether health and education expenditures redistribute resources to the poor. The paper finds that social services are poorly targeted. Among...

We analyze demographic and health surveys to examine the progress of African countries in achieving six of the seven millennium development goals (MDG) set forth by the United Nations. Our results paint a discouraging picture. Despite some noteworthy progress, the evidence suggests that, in the...