CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head profile="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11"><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://prbblog.org:80/?cat=3","20091209052824","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1260336504"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/> <script type="text/JavaScript">  </script> <title>Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment » Education</title> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 2.3.3"/>  <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824cs_/http://prbblog.org/wp-content/themes/prb-blog/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment RSS Feed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?feed=rss2"/> <link rel="pingback" href="http://prbblog.org/xmlrpc.php"/> <meta name="type" content="Section"> <meta name="language" content="english"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/><meta name="CODE_LANGUAGE" content="C#"/><meta name="vs_defaultClientScript" content="JavaScript"/><meta name="vs_targetSchema" content="http://schemas.microsoft.com/intellisense/ie5"/> <link rel="SHORTCUT ICON" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://www.prb.org/favicon.ico"/></head> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://prbblog.org/xmlrpc.php?rsd"/> <link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="http://prbblog.org/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml"/> <style type="text/css">.recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding: 0 !important;margin: 0 !important;}</style> </head> <body> <script type="text/javascript">  </script>  <div class="newheader"> <div class="functional"> <p class="links"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Bookstore.aspx">Bookstore</a>/ <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Contact.aspx">Contact</a>/ <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/SpanishContent.aspx"> Espanol</a>/ <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/FrenchContent.aspx"> Francais</a></p> </div> <div class="banner"> <div class="logo"> <img height="99" width="210" alt="PRB" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://www.prb.org/images/new_banner/logo.gif"/> </div> <div class="title wide"> <img height="63" width="564" alt="Population Reference Bureau" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://www.prb.org/images/new_banner/title.gif"/> </div> <ul class="nav sf-menu sf-js-enabled"> <li class="first home_tab"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/"> <span>Home</span> </a> </li> <li class="data_tab"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/DataFinder.aspx"> <span>DataFinder</span> </a> </li> <li class="educator_tab"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Educators.aspx"> <span>Educators</span> </a> </li> <li class="journalist_tab"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Journalists.aspx"> <span>Journalists</span> </a> </li> <li class="event_tab"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/EventsTraining.aspx"> <span>Events and Training</span> </a> </li> <li class="publication_tab"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Publications.aspx"> <span>Publications</span> </a> </li> <li class="about_tab"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/About.aspx"> <span>About PRB</span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div align="center" style="margin-top: -20px;"> <br><br><br/><br/><center><table width="960" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td>  <div id="wrap"> <div id="header"><h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/">Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment</a></h1></div> <div class="hr"></div> <div class="hr2"></div> <div class="left"> <h2 class="widgettitle">Authors</h2> <ul> <li class="widget widget_authors"> <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=4" title="Posts by Bill Butz">Bill Butz</a> (9)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=6" title="Posts by Carl Haub">Carl Haub</a> (5)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=11" title="Posts by Charlie Teller">Charlie Teller</a> (6)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=19" title="Posts by Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs">Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=14" title="Posts by Deborah Mesce">Deborah Mesce</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=10" title="Posts by Eric Zuehlke">Eric Zuehlke</a> (4)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=20" title="Posts by Farzaneh Roudi">Farzaneh Roudi</a> (2)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=13" title="Posts by Jason Bremner">Jason Bremner</a> (6)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=16" title="Posts by Jay Gribble">Jay Gribble</a> (5)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=18" title="Posts by Karin Ringheim">Karin Ringheim</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=17" title="Posts by Marissa Yeakey">Marissa Yeakey</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=12" title="Posts by Mark Mather">Mark Mather</a> (6)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=22" title="Posts by Mary Kent">Mary Kent</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=21" title="Posts by Nadwa Mossaad">Nadwa Mossaad</a> (2)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?author=15" title="Posts by Victoria Ebin">Victoria Ebin</a> (2)</li></ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li id="categories-1" class="widget widget_categories"><h2 class="widgettitle">Topics</h2> <ul> <li class="cat-item cat-item-1"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=1" title="blog on the PRB topic: Aging">Aging</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-3 current-cat"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=3" title="Blog on the PRB topic- Education">Education</a> (2) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-4"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=4" title="Blog on the PRB topic of Environment">Environment</a> (9) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-5"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=5" title="Blog on the PRB topic of Gender">Gender</a> (3) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-6"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=6" title="Blog on the PRB topic of HIV/AIDS">HIV/AIDS</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-7"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=7" title="Blog on the PRB Topic of Immigration/Migration">Immigration/Migration</a> (2) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-8"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=8" title="Blog on the topic of Income/Poverty">Income/Poverty</a> (8) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-9"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=9" title="Blog on the topic of Marriage Family">Marriage/Family</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-10"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=10" title="Blog about the topic of Population basics">Population Basics</a> (15) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-31"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts filed under PRB News">PRB News</a> (23) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-12"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="Blog on the topic of reproductive health ">Reproductive Health</a> (15) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-13"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=13" title="Blog on the topic of Youth">Youth</a> (6) </li> </ul> </li> <li id="tag_cloud" class="widget widget_tag_cloud"><h2 class="widgettitle">Tags</h2> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=burkina-faso" class="tag-link-61" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Burkina Faso</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=census" class="tag-link-39" title="7 topics" style="font-size: 15pt;">census</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=cities" class="tag-link-68" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">cities</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=climate-change" class="tag-link-69" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">climate change</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=contraception" class="tag-link-53" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">contraception</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=education" class="tag-link-3" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Education</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=engage" class="tag-link-55" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">ENGAGE</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=environment" class="tag-link-4" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Environment</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=ethiopia" class="tag-link-41" title="4 topics" style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Ethiopia</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=europe" class="tag-link-46" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Europe</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=evaluation" class="tag-link-48" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">evaluation</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=family-planning" class="tag-link-27" title="13 topics" style="font-size: 22pt;">family planning</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=fertility" class="tag-link-45" title="3 topics" style="font-size: 10.333333333333pt;">fertility</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=food" class="tag-link-32" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">food</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=health" class="tag-link-73" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=health-insurance" class="tag-link-72" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">health insurance</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=hivaids" class="tag-link-6" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">HIV/AIDS</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=india" class="tag-link-58" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">India</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=iran" class="tag-link-65" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Iran</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=journalism" class="tag-link-42" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">journalism</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=kenya" class="tag-link-54" title="7 topics" style="font-size: 15pt;">Kenya</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=mali" class="tag-link-62" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Mali</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=malnutrition" class="tag-link-33" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">malnutrition</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=media" class="tag-link-59" title="7 topics" style="font-size: 15pt;">media</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=migrants" class="tag-link-36" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">migrants</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=nano" class="tag-link-63" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Nano</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=pakistan" class="tag-link-52" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Pakistan</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=photos" class="tag-link-51" title="3 topics" style="font-size: 10.333333333333pt;">photos</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=policy" class="tag-link-30" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">policy</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=population-growth" class="tag-link-38" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">population growth</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=poverty" class="tag-link-29" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">poverty</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=prb-in-the-field" class="tag-link-50" title="11 topics" style="font-size: 19.666666666667pt;">PRB in the field</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=recession" class="tag-link-67" title="5 topics" style="font-size: 12.666666666667pt;">recession</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=rwanda" class="tag-link-56" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">Rwanda</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=senegal" class="tag-link-60" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Senegal</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=statistics" class="tag-link-44" title="4 topics" style="font-size: 11.5pt;">statistics</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=tanzania" class="tag-link-49" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">tanzania</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=transportation" class="tag-link-64" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">transportation</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=turkey" class="tag-link-57" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Turkey</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=us" class="tag-link-40" title="10 topics" style="font-size: 18.5pt;">U.S.</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=unemployment" class="tag-link-66" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Unemployment</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=urbanization" class="tag-link-70" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">urbanization</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=video" class="tag-link-37" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.1666666666667pt;">video</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=water" class="tag-link-71" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">water</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?tag=women" class="tag-link-43" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">women</a></li> <li id="recent-posts" class="widget widget_recent_entries"> <h2 class="widgettitle">Recent Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=86">Uganda in the Rearview Mirror </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=85">Pearls — Beauty Brought About by Irritation </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=84">Family Planning: Is It Back? </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=83">Family Planning, Family Health, Family Wealth </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=82">Voices From the XXVI International Population Conference </a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="archives" class="widget widget_archives"><h2 class="widgettitle">Archives</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200911" title="November 2009">November 2009</a> (5)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200910" title="October 2009">October 2009</a> (2)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200909" title="September 2009">September 2009</a> (6)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200908" title="August 2009">August 2009</a> (3)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200907" title="July 2009">July 2009</a> (4)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200906" title="June 2009">June 2009</a> (3)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200905" title="May 2009">May 2009</a> (3)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200904" title="April 2009">April 2009</a> (9)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200903" title="March 2009">March 2009</a> (4)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200902" title="February 2009">February 2009</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200901" title="January 2009">January 2009</a> (6)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200812" title="December 2008">December 2008</a> (3)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200811" title="November 2008">November 2008</a> (3)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?m=200810" title="October 2008">October 2008</a> (5)</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="right"> <ul> <li> <h2 class="widgettitle">Blog Search</h2> <div id="search"><form method="get" id="searchform" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/"> <div><input type="text" value="" name="s" id="s"/> <input type="submit" id="searchsubmit" value="Go"/> </div> </form> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> </li> <li id="text-1" class="widget widget_text"> <h2 class="widgettitle">About the PRB Blog</h2> <div class="textwidget"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?page_id=2">The PRB blog is....</a> </div> </li> <li id="recent-comments" class="widget widget_recent_comments"> <h2 class="widgettitle">Recent Comments</h2> <ul id="recentcomments"><li class="recentcomments">Amanda Mitchell on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=34#comment-644">Will the Economic Downturn Lower Birth Rates?</a></li><li class="recentcomments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prb/" rel="external nofollow">charles teller</a> on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=66#comment-642">Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist in Ethiopia?</a></li><li class="recentcomments">Amanda Mitchell on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=75#comment-622">New Data on U.S. Health Insurance Coverage</a></li><li class="recentcomments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.howtoconceiveagirl.co.uk/" rel="external nofollow">How to Conceive a Girl</a> on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=34#comment-585">Will the Economic Downturn Lower Birth Rates?</a></li><li class="recentcomments">Teshome Desta on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=81#comment-573">When Politics Meets Demographic Data</a></li></ul> </li> <li id="links" class="widget widget_links"><h2 class="widgettitle">Blogroll</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://blogs.cgdev.org/globalhealth/">Center for Global Development: Global Health Policy Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/">Center for Global Development: Views from the Center</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://demographymatters.blogspot.com/">Demography Matters</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.globaldashboard.org/">Global Dashboard: Notes from the Future</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://gsionline.csis.org/">Global Strategy Institute Online</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://globalhealth.sais-jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University: Global Health and Foreign Policy Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://geography.about.com/b/">Matt’s Geography Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/">New York Times: Dot Earth Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://populationaction.org/blog/">Population Action International blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prcdc.org/blog/">Population Resource Center: Population Counts</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://censusprojectblog.org/">The Census Project Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://thecityfix.com/">The City Fix</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://newsecuritybeat.blogspot.com/">The New Security Beat</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://earthtrends.wri.org/">World Resources Institute: EarthTrends</a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="meta" class="widget widget_meta"> <h2 class="widgettitle">Meta</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/wp-login.php">Login</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?feed=rss2" title="Syndicate this site using RSS 2.0">Entries <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?feed=comments-rss2" title="The latest comments to all posts in RSS">Comments <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://wordpress.org/" title="Powered by WordPress, state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform.">WordPress.org</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="middle"> <div id="post-66"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=66" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist in Ethiopia?">Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist in Ethiopia?</a></h2> <p><small>June 29th, 2009 Charlie Teller</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=3" title="View all posts in Education" rel="category">Education</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=4" title="View all posts in Environment" rel="category">Environment</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=8" title="View all posts in Income/Poverty" rel="category">Income/Poverty</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=66#comments" title="Comment on Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist in Ethiopia?">6 Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p align="left"><em>by Charlie Teller, Bixby visiting scholar</em> </p> <p>Teaching an entire semester’s graduate course in three weeks at the end of the academic year seemed a dubious task under normal conditions. But teaching it at the end of Ethiopia’s long dry season with shortages of electricity and water, not to mention scarcity of recent publications and slow internet speed in the mountainous capital city of Addis Ababa, made it even more challenging.</p> <p>I had taught at the Flagship University of Addis Ababa’s Institute of Population Studies for four years in the mid-to-late 1990s, and served as external thesis examiner off and on since then, but now the government really needed more Ph.D demographers as it greatly increased its student intake in higher education, even pushing to start a Ph.D program on top of an already overstretched masters degree program.</p> <p>In one of the poorest countries in the world, with 13 million food insecure, the second largest population in Africa (nearly 80 million), and an annual population growth rate around 2.6 percent, we discussed theories of population and development and debated models of the demographic transition. In a secret ballot early on in the course, I was not surprised to find out most of the 22 mature graduate students were Malthusian pessimists or even alarmists.</p> <p>The job of a good professor is to challenge his students into reconsidering their cynicism and, in this constrained setting, provide rays of hope that things might get better. In the past few years, my Ethiopian colleagues and I had published evidence that the country was unexpectedly progressing better along the demographic transition than most of its neighbors, and that it was surprisingly on track to meet many of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially in education and health.</p> <p>In just a few weeks, in spite of the lack of computers, electricity, and inability to download publications from the internet, the students were able to work in teams of two to three to read recent literature and access demographic and development data through sharing CDs, photocopies, and handouts. They closely assessed the quality of differing estimates of progress since 1990 on the MDGs: the 1993 National Population Policy and its ICPD+15 (2008) goals, and the 2005-08 Poverty Reduction Strategy.</p> <p align="center"><img border="0" width="442" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://www.prb.org/images09/ethiopia.JPG" height="336"/></p> <p align="center"><em>Ethiopian population graduate students prepare outside on campus at dark when electricity went out. (Photo by Charlie Teller)</em></p> <p>In their final exam, I asked if any had changed their minds away from pessimism, and why. To my pleasant surprise, some had after seeing progress on the some of the MDGs and social change in their own younger generation, calling themselves revisionists, neutralists,or cautious optimists. They became convinced of the importance of using rigorous research methods and reliable indicators to closely monitor and evaluate the pace of the demographic transition and socioeconomic and gender inequities, as well as capacity building in research and training.</p> <p>If these keen students in such a resource-constrained environment can learn so quickly, can’t a country under population pressure use its resilient and adaptive skills to begin to believe in their capacity to accelerate the demographic transition? ?</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=66&title=Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist in Ethiopia?" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-16"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=16" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Four Steps to Fewer Poor People">Four Steps to Fewer Poor People</a></h2> <p><small>October 15th, 2008 Bill Butz</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=3" title="View all posts in Education" rel="category">Education</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=5" title="View all posts in Gender" rel="category">Gender</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=8" title="View all posts in Income/Poverty" rel="category">Income/Poverty</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?cat=13" title="View all posts in Youth" rel="category">Youth</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://prbblog.org/?p=16#respond" title="Comment on Four Steps to Fewer Poor People">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><i>by Bill Butz, President and CEO, Population Reference Bureau</i>  </p> <p>I’ve led a relatively privileged life, never economically poor or deprived of basic needs. But I’ve been around data and research on poverty throughout my career. At RAND, I surveyed and studied how poverty, fertility, health, and economic opportunities interact in Guatemala and Malaysia. At the Census Bureau, much of the official U.S. statistics on poverty, income, education, and health were my responsibility. At the National Science Foundation, we funded much academic research on poverty in the U.S and elsewhere. And now at PRB, we turn relevant data and research about poverty and other topics into clear and evidence-based information for decision makers. So, based on a life’s experience and on the scientific evidence—if I were Lead Adviser, what would I do to substantially reduce poverty? Here’s how I’ll spend the first billion dollars:</p> <ul> <li>I will spend $300 million to build schools, develop relevant curricula, train teachers, and ensure effective primary schooling—all to eliminate functional illiteracy in poor countries. In spite of real progress over the last 30 years, about a billion people, most of them female, entered this century unable to write their names or read a book. Most won’t, for this reason, use new farming techniques or work in a modern factory. They’re stuck. Based on recent progress, we know how to increase literacy through schooling.</li> <li>I will spend $300 million to increase the availability of effective and affordable contraceptives to women and men who want to reduce or space their births. More children than desired causes poverty. Based on the evidence, we know how to create a more enabling environment to lower birth rates. See PRB’s policy brief, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Publications/PolicyBriefs/ensuringfamilyplanning.aspx" mce_href="http://www.prb.org/Publications/PolicyBriefs/ensuringfamilyplanning.aspx"><font color="#3366ff">Ensuring a Wide Range of Family Planning Choices</font></a> for more information.</li> <li>I will spend $200 mllion to teach disadvantaged U.S. children age 4-6 cognitive skills along with noncognitive skills like motivation and perseverance, all of which are necessary for success in school and jobs. If necessary, I will pay for this by shifting resources from formal schooling and remedial job training, neither of which works without the basic skills. We don’t know exactly how to impart these skills in ways consistent with parental roles, so the first dollars will go into research and controlled field trials. See James J. Heckman’s article “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.brainwave.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/valuing_prevention.pdf" target="_blank" mce_href="http://www.brainwave.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/valuing_prevention.pdf"><font color="#3366ff">Skill Formation and the Economics of Investing in Disadvantaged Children</font></a>.”</li> <li>I will spend $200 million to eliminate child undernourishment in the world. A third of all child deaths globally, three and a half million each year, is due to nutrition-related causes. Many of those who survive have less energy and health for school and work. This exacerbates poverty. We know how to eliminate undernutrition (overnutrition—obesity—is tougher) and doing so isn’t expensive as these things go. See James Levinson and Lucy Bassett’s <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/pdf07/Nutrition2007.pdf" mce_href="http://www.prb.org/pdf07/Nutrition2007.pdf"><font color="#3366ff">PRB brief on malnutrition</font></a><font color="#3366ff">,<font color="#3366ff"> </font><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.globalnutritionseries.org/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://www.globalnutritionseries.org/"><font color="#3366ff">The Lancet’s Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition</font></a>, <font color="#000000">and</font> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Articles/2008/childnutrition.aspx" mce_href="http://www.prb.org/Articles/2008/childnutrition.aspx"><font color="#3366ff">PRB’s seminar on improving child nutrition</font></a> <font color="#000000">for more.</font> <o:p></o:p></font><o:p><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></o:p></li> </ul> <p>The list of challenges goes on: bad governance, industrialized country agricultural policies, HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, food maldistribution, lack of employment opportunities and more. Indeed, my top priorities will not succeed in some places without complementary investments. Still, to lead is to choose. You see how this “adviser” would choose. If you were Lead Adviser instead, what would you choose to do?</p> <p>(If you really like the priorities game, see <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://copenhagenconsensus.com/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://copenhagenconsensus.com/"><font color="#3366ff">Copenhagenconsensus.com </font></a>and the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2008/MDG_Report_2008_En.pdf" target="_blank" mce_href="http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2008/MDG_Report_2008_En.pdf"><font color="#3366ff">UN Millennium Development Goals 2008 Report</font></a>)<script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824js_/http://blogactionday.org/js/aa642195f04b82394cc7db686409c97b99dee7d6" mce_src="http://blogactionday.org/js/aa642195f04b82394cc7db686409c97b99dee7d6"></script><br/> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://blogactionday.org/" mce_href="http://blogactionday.org"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://blogactionday.s3.amazonaws.com/banners/88x31.jpg" mce_src="http://blogactionday.s3.amazonaws.com/banners/88x31.jpg"></a></p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=16&title=Four Steps to Fewer Poor People" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div> <div class="alignleft"></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> <br/> </div> </td></tr></table></center>  <br/><br/> <div align="center"> <div align="center" id="ftr"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://www.prb.org/images/footer2.gif" width="3" height="23" align="right"/><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824im_/http://www.prb.org/images/footer1.gif" width="3" height="23" align="left"/><span class="footertext">Services: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Home/EmailSignup.aspx">Get E-Mail News</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Join.aspx">Join/Renew Membership</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Donate.aspx">Donate</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Bookstore.aspx">Bookstore</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Home/Contact.aspx">Contact</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/SpanishContent.aspx">Español</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/FrenchContent.aspx">Français</a></span></div> <span class="footer2text"><b>Copyright 2007, Population Reference Bureau.</b> All rights reserved. • <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www.prb.org/Home/Privacy.aspx">Privacy Policy</a></span><br/> <span class="footer2text">1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW • Suite 520 • Washington, DC 20009-5728 • USA <br/> <b>Phone:</b> 800-877-9881 • <b>Fax:</b> 202-328-3937 • <b>E-mail:</b> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/mailto:popref@prb.org">popref@prb.org</a></span><br/> </div>  </div>  <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/https://ssl." : "https://web.archive.org/web/20091209052824/http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-6730966-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script>  </body> </html>