What determines girls' educational attainment? School quality (measured by the number of textbooks and teachers) changes in attitudes and better economic opportunities for educated women ; parents (especially mothers') years of schooling and occupations ; and the opportunity cost of sending a girl to school - especially in rural families, or when mothers must hold jobs outside the home.

Why do women in most developing countries lag behind men in literacy? Why do women get less schooling than men? This anthology examines the educational decisions that deprive women of an equal education. It assembles the most up-to-date data, organized by region. Each paper links the data with other measures of economic and social development. This approach helps explain the effects different levels of education have on womens' fertility, mortality rates, life expectancy, and income. Also described are the effects of women's education on family welfare. The authors look at family size and women's labor status and earnings. They examine child and maternal health, as well as investments in children's education. Their investigation demonstrates that women with a better education enjoy greater economic growth and provide a more nurturing family life. It suggests that when a country denies women an equal education, the nation's welfare suffers. Current strategies used to improve schooling for girls and women are examined in detail. The authors suggest an ambitious agenda for educating women. It seeks to close the gender gap by the next century. Published for The World Bank by The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Time series of alternative conversion factors and of corresponding weights provides the framework for estimating overall conversion factors that are analytically relevant and meaningful.

Forced consolidation of small Chinese farms into larger farms is unwarranted but China needs mechanisms to facilitate free market land transactions, better supplies of such inputs as fertilizer, and - when those are available - a reoriented rural credit system. Early extensions of farmers' about the government's commitment to the present system.