Who Benefits from Public Education Spending in Malawi? Results from the Recent Education Reform. World Bank Discussion Paper No. 350.

Overview & Synopsis

This study uses the Benefit Incidence Analysis to examine the distribution of public spending across different socioeconomic groups before and after the government of Malawi made great changes in educational policy in 1994. Primary education was made the top priority with increased spending on education and primary school fees abolished. The Malawi example shows an effective way to increase the equity of public spending in education is to increase the total allocation of public resources to primary education while easing the constraints on the demand for education faced by poor households. The challenge in the near future is to maintain current enrollment levels in primary schools and simultaneously to improve the quality of education. The book is divided into five chapters: (1)"Introduction"; (2) "School Enrollment"; (3) "Recent Changes in Enrollment: Important Inequities Remain in Primary Education"; (4) "Public Spending on Education"; (5) "Who Benefits from Public Education Spending?"; and (6) "Policy Implications." Numerous charts and graphs accompany the text. A 29-item reference list and two appendices conclude the volume. (EH)