Human Development Perspectives
9 items available
Permanent URI for this collection
The books in this series address main and emerging development issues of a global/regional nature through original research and findings in the areas of Education, Gender, Health, Nutrition, Population, Social Protection and Jobs. This series is aimed at policy makers and area experts and is overseen by the Human Development Practice Group Chief Economist.
Items in this collection
1 - 4 of 4
-
Publication
Quality Early Learning: Nurturing Children's Potential
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-05-11)In this volume, leading researchers and implementation experts from an array of disciplines provide evidence-based, cost-effective, and actionable strategies for delivering quality early childhood education (ECE) at scale in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS).Over the past decade, neuroscientists, developmental and cognitive psychologists, economists, and education researchers have amassed evidence to inform ECE program design. Yet much of this evidence has not been readily accessible to policymakers and practitioners, and potential synergies from cross-disciplinary considerations have not been realized.Quality Early Learning: Nurturing Children’s Potential synthesizes the evidence across disciplines and charts a forward course for quality ECE. The volume includes Overview, From Evidence to Effective Policies: How to Invest in Early Childhood Education to Nurture Children’s Potential, by Magdalena Bendini, Amanda E. Devercelli, Elaine Ding, Melissa Kelly, and Adelle Pushparatnam Chapter 1, Learning in the Early Years, by Elizabeth Spelke and Kristin Shutts Chapter 2, Pedagogy and Curricula Content: Building Foundational Skills and Knowledge, by David Whitebread and Yasmin Sitabkhan Chapter 3, Building an Effective Early Childhood Education Workforce, by Nirmala Rao, Emma Pearson, Benjamin Piper, and Carrie Lau Chapter 4, Creating Early Childhood Education Environments That Promote Early Learning, by Cynthia Adlerstein and Alejandra Cortázar Chapter 5, The Role of Management, Leadership, and Monitoring in Producing Quality Learning Outcomes in Early Childhood Education, by Iram Siraj, Violeta Arancibia, and Juan Barón Chapter 6, Toward Quality Early Learning: Systems for Success, by Sharon Lynn Kagan and Caitlin M. Dermody In the volume, the authors provide the latest evidence on how young children learn most effectively and how ECE programs can foster children’s natural ability and motivation to learn. It offers guidance for policy makers on policy design and implementation including what elements of ECE to prioritize in resource- and capacity-constrained settings in LMICs. -
Publication
Revisiting Targeting in Social Assistance: A New Look at Old Dilemmas
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-31)Targeting is a commonly used, but much debated, policy within global social assistance practice. This book examines the well- known dilemmas in light of the growing body of experience, new implementation capacities, and the potential to bring new data and data science to bear. Chapter 1 presents a series of essays on the factors that shape choices around why or whether or how narrowly/broadly to target different parts of social assistance. Chapter 2 updates the global empirics around the outcomes and costs of focusing benefits on the poor or vulnerable. Chapter 3 illustrates the options and choices that must be made in moving from an abstract vision of focusing resources on the poor or vulnerable to more specific concepts and implementable definitions and procedures, and how the many choices should be informed by values, empirics and context. Chapter 4 provides a brief treatment of delivery systems and processes showing their importance to distributional outcomes and suggesting the many facets with room for improvement. Chapter 5 discusses the choice between targeting methods, how differences in purposes and contexts shape those. Chapter 6 summarizes and comprehensively updates the know-how with respect to the data and inference used by the different household-specific targeting methods. Chapter 7 contains a primer on measurement issues, going much deeper than usual and explaining how better measurement can lead to clearer understanding of targeting issues. Chapter 8 explores machine learning algorithms for household-specific mechanisms for eligibility determination. -
Publication
Tackling the World's Fastest-Growing HIV Epidemic: More Efficient HIV Responses in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020-06-22)The Eastern Europe and Central Asia region has the world’s fastest growing HIV epidemic. Although still concentrated, the epidemic has diversified, affecting several key populations in many countries. This change has increased the number of people in need, the ways the epidemic can spread, and the complexity of formulating an effective strategy to combat it. At the same time, international funding is insufficient to cover the growing need, and domestic plans to cover the funding gaps, in many cases, fall short. In this environment, the need to use data to make the best possible decisions about using available funds is essential. Tackling the World’s Fastest-Growing HIV Epidemic tells the story of how, in 11 countries across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, small groups of decision-makers and experts came together to carry out innovative, groundbreaking analyses for each country. It details the steps these nations have taken to strengthen their HIV programs based on the findings while highlighting critical issues for the road ahead. In so doing, the book also shows the potential of what can be done with a mathematical model and how it can support real-life improvements in policy and more efficacious budget allocations. It is the record of a unique undertaking to improve public health investments that offers lessons for many communities. -
Publication
Obesity: Health and Economic Consequences of an Impending Global Challenge
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020)Obesity is a global ticking time-bomb with huge potential negative economic and health impacts, especially for the poor. As of 2016, an estimated 44 percent of adults (more than 2 billion) worldwide are overweight/obese, and over 70 percent of them live in low- or middle-income countries, dispelling the myth that obesity is a problem only in high-income countries. The global obesity epidemic presents a formidable challenge to human capital acquisition, national wealth accumulation, and the goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Given the renewed global focus on human capital, its links to the obesity epidemic, and the growing evidence base for double- and triple-duty actions, there is both an urgent need for action and a great opportunity for engagement that will require both a whole-of-government and a whole-of-development partner approach. Countries and global partners need to act urgently to address this ensuing epidemic with emphasis highlighting interventions that require corrective public action rather than one of individual responsibility.