Poor countries cannot develop without improving their citizens' basic education and literacy, which is critical for promoting economic growth, reducing infant mortality, improving family health, and dampening population growth. Yet the average literacy rate among the 30 poorest countries is only 33%

The papers in this volume address a range of relevant issues: • The relationship between aid, growth, and poverty reduction. • The potential for sizable increases in aid to adversely affect competitiveness, and how to avoid this. • Concerns that aid flows that are volatile, unpredictable,...