IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v40y2015icp174-182.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Universal primary education in low-income countries: The contributing role of national governance

Author

Listed:
  • Richards, John
  • Vining, Aidan R.

Abstract

The Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015 cannot be achieved. We demonstrate that per-capita GDP and adult literacy, especially the latter, are significant in explaining national primary completion rates. National governance (measured by comparative perceptions of political stability, government accountability and effectiveness in delivering services) is also important. We also analyze the extent to which countries improved their respective 2001–2005 primary school completion rates in the second half of the decade. Here, quality of governance seems to be key. Adult literacy in 2001–2005 is significant, but explains little; per capita GDP in 2001–2005 is not significant.

Suggested Citation

  • Richards, John & Vining, Aidan R., 2015. "Universal primary education in low-income countries: The contributing role of national governance," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 174-182.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:40:y:2015:i:c:p:174-182
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.09.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059314000960
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.09.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2012. "Do better schools lead to more growth? Cognitive skills, economic outcomes, and causation," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 267-321, December.
    2. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Shawn Cole & Esther Duflo & Leigh Linden, 2007. "Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1235-1264.
    3. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2011. "The Economics of International Differences in Educational Achievement," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 89-200, Elsevier.
    4. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    5. Alain Mingat & Barbara Bruns & Ramahatra Rakotomalala, 2003. "Achieving universal primary education by 2015 - a chance for every child," Post-Print halshs-00006556, HAL.
    6. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    7. Levine, Ross & Renelt, David, 1992. "A Sensitivity Analysis of Cross-Country Growth Regressions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(4), pages 942-963, September.
    8. World Bank, 2012. "World Development Indicators 2012," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6014, December.
    9. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2007. "The worldwide governance indicators project : answering the critics," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4149, The World Bank.
    10. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2011. "How much do educational outcomes matter in OECD countries? [‘Accountability and flexibility in public schools: Evidence from Boston’s charters and pilots’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(67), pages 427-491.
    11. Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian & Francesco Trebbi, 2004. "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 131-165, June.
    12. Mauro, Paolo, 1998. "Corruption and the composition of government expenditure," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 263-279, June.
    13. Tsang, Eric W. K., 2014. "Old and New," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(03), pages 390-390, November.
    14. Paul Schultz, T., 2002. "Why Governments Should Invest More to Educate Girls," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 207-225, February.
    15. Benjamin F. Jones & Benjamin A. Olken, 2008. "The Anatomy of Start-Stop Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 582-587, August.
    16. Castelló-Climent, Amparo & Hidalgo-Cabrillana, Ana, 2012. "The role of educational quality and quantity in the process of economic development," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 391-409.
    17. Rajkumar, Andrew Sunil & Swaroop, Vinaya, 2008. "Public spending and outcomes: Does governance matter?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 96-111, April.
    18. Baldacci, Emanuele & Clements, Benedict & Gupta, Sanjeev & Cui, Qiang, 2008. "Social Spending, Human Capital, and Growth in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 1317-1341, August.
    19. Serge Coulombe & Jean-François Tremblay, 2004. "Literacy, Human Capital and Growth," Working Papers 0407E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    20. Aron, Janine, 2000. "Growth and Institutions: A Review of the Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 15(1), pages 99-135, February.
    21. Xavier Sala-I-Martin & Gernot Doppelhofer & Ronald I. Miller, 2004. "Determinants of Long-Term Growth: A Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 813-835, September.
    22. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2010. "The worldwide governance indicators : methodology and analytical issues," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5430, The World Bank.
    23. Barbara Bruns & Alain Mingat & Ramahatra Rakotomalala, 2003. "Achieving Universal Primary Education by 2015 : A Chance for Every Child," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15121, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Richards, John & Islam, Mohammad Shahidul, 2018. "Assessing literacy and numeracy among primary school students: A pilot survey in rural Bangladesh," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 55-63.
    2. Thomas Hickmann & Frank Biermann & Matteo Spinazzola & Charlotte Ballard & Maya Bogers & Oana Forestier & Agni Kalfagianni & Rakhyun E. Kim & Francesco S. Montesano & Tom Peek & Carole‐Anne Sénit & Me, 2023. "Success factors of global goal‐setting for sustainable development: Learning from the Millennium Development Goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1214-1225, June.
    3. Opalo, Ken Ochieng' & Habyarimana, James & Schipper, Youdi, 2021. "The Contingent Electoral Impacts of Programmatic Policies: Evidence From Education Reforms in Tanzania," OSF Preprints utpqn, Center for Open Science.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fiseha Gebregziabher & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2014. "Social Spending and Aggregate Welfare in Developing and Transition Economies," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-082, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Gebregziabher, Fiseha & Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel, 2014. "Social spending and aggregate welfare in developing and transition economies," WIDER Working Paper Series 082, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Hüseyin Taştan & Selin Erdoğan, 2018. "Cognitive skills and economic performance: evidence from the recent international student assessment tests," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(3), pages 417-449, December.
    4. Altinok, Nadir & Aydemir, Abdurrahman, 2017. "Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 176-190.
    5. Stimpfle, Alexander & Stadelmann, David, 2015. "The Impact of Fundamental Development Factors on Different Income Groups: International Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113128, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Oasis Kodila†Tedika & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Does Intelligence Affect Economic Diversification?," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 19(1), pages 74-93, February.
    7. Hanushek, Eric A., 2013. "Economic growth in developing countries: The role of human capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 204-212.
    8. Iftikhar Ahmad, 2016. "Assessing the Effects of Fiscal Decentralization on the Education Sector: A Cross-Country Analysis," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 21(2), pages 53-96, July-Dec.
    9. Balart, Pau & Oosterveen, Matthijs & Webbink, Dinand, 2018. "Test scores, noncognitive skills and economic growth," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 134-153.
    10. Niclas Berggren & Mikael Elinder, 2012. "Is tolerance good or bad for growth?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 283-308, January.
    11. Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel & Jordahl, Henrik, 2021. "Test Scores and Economic Growth: Update and Extension," Working Paper Series 1408, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    12. Kodila-Tedika, Oasis & Asongu, Simplice, 2015. "Intelligence, Human Capital and HIV/AIDS: Fresh Exploration," MPRA Paper 68320, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Jellal, Mohamed & Bouzahzah, Mohamed, 2012. "Gouvernance éducation et croissance économique [Governance education and economic growth]," MPRA Paper 38687, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Eric Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2012. "Do better schools lead to more growth? Cognitive skills, economic outcomes, and causation," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 267-321, December.
    15. Łukasz Goczek & Ewa Witkowska & Bartosz Witkowski, 2021. "How Does Education Quality Affect Economic Growth?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Roman Matousek & Nickolaos G. Tzeremes, 2021. "The asymmetric impact of human capital on economic growth," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1309-1334, March.
    17. Glawe, Linda & Wagner, Helmut, 2022. "Is schooling the same as learning? – The impact of the learning-adjusted years of schooling on growth in a dynamic panel data framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    18. In Do Hwang, 2017. "Which Type of Trust Matters?:Interpersonal vs. Institutional vs. Political Trust," Working Papers 2017-15, Economic Research Institute, Bank of Korea.
    19. Glewwe, Paul & Kassouf, Ana Lucia, 2012. "The impact of the Bolsa Escola/Familia conditional cash transfer program on enrollment, dropout rates and grade promotion in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 505-517.
    20. Mohamed Jellal & Mohamed, Bouzahzah & Simplice A. Asongu, 2015. "Institutional Governance, Education and Growth," Research Africa Network Working Papers 15/059, Research Africa Network (RAN).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:40:y:2015:i:c:p:174-182. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.