How to Spend $75 Billion to Make the World a Better Place

by Bjørn Lomborg

In a research paper on education Peter Orazem highlights the different ways that decision-makers could approach the challenge of providing education in developing countries. Most children in developing countries are now already enrolled in school for at least some period, so Orazem points out that we could focus on strategies that improve school quality, either by enhancing the learning that is occurring in school or increasing the number of years of schooling. Unfortunately, there is very weak knowledge about which inputs actually generate quality schooling outcomes, and many investments are unlikely to generate the desired effects. There is widespread acknowledgement that resources are used inefficiently, but for instance efforts to improve resource management by devolving authority to local jurisdictions are as likely to fail as succeed. Thus, Orazem considers three strategies that seem to offer the best evidence of success to date: nutrition supplements, offering information on returns to schooling, and conditional cash transfers for school attendance. All have been shown to succeed with benefits that exceed the costs.