announced the United Nations (U.N.) Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), the goal of universal primary educa-tion by 2015 figured prominently, second only to the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger. Although the diminution of poverty and hunger is a self-evident end in itself, put-ting all children into school is a goal primarily because it is believed to be the vehicle through which the level of adult human capital is improved, in turn enhancing individual well-being, health, and economic growth. The empirical basis for assuming an important positive effect of education on economic growth is, however, surprisingly weak. Al-though it is well established that, at the indi-vidual level, more years of schooling lead t