According to the authors, population growth and economic development is a centuries-old theme that regained prominence in the 1960s. They take another look at this old issue in the context of recent developments and with the benefit of the increasing stock of knowledge on the subject. After...

While decentralization of schooling in Asian developing countries has largely been driven by fiscal constraints, it has also been motivated by concerns about the effectiveness of a centralized system in delivering schooling services. The statistics are revealing about some of these concerns:...

"While decentralization of education in DMCs has largely been driven by fiscal constraints, it has also been motivated by concerns about the effectiveness of a centralized system in delivering education services. The statistics are revealing: while virtually all DMCs have made impressive gains...

The extent and seriousness of poverty vary markedly across Asian developing countries, and so does the rate at which poverty has changed over time. In addition, there are large intercountry differences in the extent to which social services, especially health and education, reach the poor. There...

The theme of this book is that economic growth is key, but institutions and other national and subnational attributes matter as well. They are critical to explaining differences in social development and poverty reduction across countries and subnational areas that cannot be accounted for by...