More Than Money: The Critical Role of Management in Educational Aid Effectiveness in Africa
研究世界银行在非洲的教育项目发现，项目管理质量比援助金额更能显著降低小学辍学率，高质量管理能大幅提升援助效果，对政策制定者和国际组织有重要参考价值。
The effectiveness of educational aid in Africa is a pressing issue, with little consensus on whether the management quality of aid has significant contribution towards achieving inclusive, equitable, and quality education on the continent by 2030. Despite substantial inflows of educational aid from both bilateral and multilateral sources, the continent continues to exhibit the world’s highest levels of educational deprivation, pointing to persistent inefficiencies in how aid is implemented. This paper examines whether the impact of World Bank–funded educational projects across Africa on primary school non-completion rates depend on the quality of project management. The findings show that projects managed in a highly satisfactory manner are associated with significant improvement in primary school completion rates, regardless of the volume of aid disbursed. In contrast, projects managed in a sub-satisfactory manner show no progress at all. These findings highlight that effective management is far more critical to success than the amount of aid provided and suggest that reforming management practices could drastically enhance the impact of educational aid. By prioritising high-quality management practices, policymakers and international organisations could improve the effects of educational aid, offering a targeted strategy to drive Africa’s educational progress.