Assessing the impact of PRSPs on Child Poverty: The Case of Bolivia

It is difficult to say whe<strong>the</strong>r this heavy investment in infrastructure is a wise priority without
fur<strong>the</strong>r studies, however, based on what we do know, it is worth noting <strong>the</strong> following points. As
<strong>the</strong> graph below makes clear, <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> schools in Bolivia lack access to even <strong>the</strong> most
basic resources, indicating that investment in infrastructure might be sorely needed.
Graph no 12: Percentage <strong>of</strong> schools with access to basic services
50 %
40 %
30 %
20 %
10 %
0 %
Percentage <strong>of</strong> schools with access to basic
services
Source: Bolivian Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education
Water Electricity Sewage
On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, both international experience and econometric analysis show that <strong>the</strong> quality
improvements require a much higher investment in teacher training and pedagogical materials
(World Bank 2005).
This point relates to <strong>the</strong> high drop out rates Bolivia is experiencing which might indicate, among
o<strong>the</strong>r things, poor quality and lack <strong>of</strong> relevance <strong>of</strong> education <strong>of</strong>fered. Previous studies show large
differences in learning between <strong>the</strong> lower percentile children and upper percentile children,
showing that <strong>the</strong> scores <strong>of</strong> students in <strong>the</strong> 90th achievement percentile in Bolivia are less than
half <strong>the</strong> scores <strong>of</strong> those students in <strong>the</strong> 10th achievement percentile.
This may be particularly relevant in rural areas where drop out rates are high (see Figure 3 –
School Enrollment by Geographical Location and by Income Quintile p 27) and <strong>the</strong>re are fewer
trained teachers (discussed below). Increased funding for teachers was partly addressed by <strong>the</strong>
HIPC II resources channeled to <strong>the</strong> Municipal Solidarity Fund and will be discussed in <strong>the</strong>
section below.
The Municipal Solidarity Fund
The Dialogue 2000 Law stipulates that <strong>the</strong> accumulated staff deficits in education and health will
be covered using funds from <strong>the</strong> Municipal Solidarity Fund for School Education and Public
Health, allocating US$5 million for 2001 and US$27 million from <strong>the</strong> HIPC II resources per year
from 2002 to 2015.This latter amount (US$ 27 millions) will be divided as follows:
40