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This is the report of an evaluation of Swedish development bilateral research cooperation activities that aim to strengthen research capacity in Mozambique, Tanzania, Bolivia and Nicaragua, thus increasing their access to knowledge in areas of central importance for poverty-reducing development. The programmes in the four countries focused on capacity building of individual staff members, research infrastructure and, to a… Read more
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the Prouni – University for All policy, which has been implemented in Brazil in an effort to increase access of the underprivileged to post-secondary education. In order to provide a better understanding of the problem, three points of interest are initially addressed: income inequality, illiteracy, and a… Read more
Access to higher education in Brazil is to a large extent restricted to the higher socio-economic groups. Public universities have limited places and entry is determined by highly competitive exams, thereby excluding those who have not had a high quality secondary education or attended an expensive preparatory course. There has been considerable growth in the… Read more
This paper reports a comparative analysis of education trends in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Collectively these countries have emerging economies and are known as BRICS. The analysis indicates that the BRICS have shared aspirations but different development trajectories. There are good opportunities for educational progression through knowledge exchange and joint activities. Following… Read more
This report aimed to produce empirical evidence and analysis of countries’ experiences of introducing qualifications framework as part of a strategy to achieve skills development and employment goals. A qualifications framework is intended to improve understanding of qualifications (degrees, certificates, or recognition of experiential-based learning and capabilities) in terms of the information they convey to… Read more
In March 2006 the newly elected President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, mandated a Presidential Advisory Board for Early Childhood Policy Reform to propose a comprehensive system for the care and education of young children. The programme based on the board’s recommendations, Chile Crece Contigo (ChCC – ‘Chile is Growing with You’), began in 2007. This… Read more
The “private-for-profit” sector is a significant provider of global early childhood care and education (ECCE). This chapter explores how this trend contributes to policy goals, focusing especially on the risks that a growing private-for-profit sector may amplify inequities in access and quality. We review the government financing and regulation required to harness private sector providers… Read more
Schooling predicts better reproductive outcomes, better long-term health, and increased lifetime earnings. We used data from 5 cohorts (Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa) to explore the relative importance of birthweight and postnatal weight gain for schooling in pooled analyses (n = 7945) that used appropriate statistical methods [conditional weight (CW) gain measures… Read more
Diarrhoea is an important cause of death and illness among chil- dren in developing countries; however, it remains controversial as to whether diarrhoea leads to stunting. We conducted a pooled analysis of nine studies that collected daily diarrhoea morbidity and longitudinal anthropometry to determine the effects of the long- itudinal history of diarrhoea prior to… Read more
In 2003, the government of Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva launched a comprehensive program to stimulate growth and social progress. On the social side, the centerpiece was a sweeping reform of Brazil’s social safety net, the Bolsa Familia Program (BFP), which integrated four cash transfer programs into a single program under the umbrella of a… Read more
We use two different datasets and three different instruments to estimate the impact of a long-established pre-school nursery programme on children’s nutritional status. We use variables related to cost (fee, distance to the nursery) and programme availability (capacity of the programme in the town) as instruments. One of our datasets is representative of very poor… Read more