Abstract

This paper argues that the World Bank's economic cost-benefit methodology used in assessing primary education projects in Africa is largely ineffective in determining the likely success and impact of these projects on their host countries. After analyzing the actual methods used, this study argues that to determine the net social value of primary education projects in Africa, the World Bank must reduce its dependence on traditional quantitative measures and incorporate a more pedagogical and sociological methodology combined with specific goals and increased field monitoring and assessment. The analysis ends with recommendations for methodological alterations and suggested means of offsetting additional costs.

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