While there are many other possible interventions to achieve these social goods, girls' education is the only one which impacts all of them simultaneously. Government investment in schooling for girls, especially at the primary school level, is particularly justified in that it brings so many benefits for the broader society. Most governments already have policies affirming primary education, and some apparatus for delivering education exists in virtually all countries. Even in settings with low enrollment for both boys and girls, the argument for governments to focus resources on girls is compelling given the positive effect of girls' education on development. With relatively modest modifications in the content and quality of schooling, teachers and materials, a far higher percentage of girls could enroll in and complete primary school, or remain there long enough to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Governments exhibit a wide range of commitment to financing education.
In Pakistan, for example, only 2.6 percent of the national budget was invested in education in 1987, while nearby Bangladesh spent 10.6 percent of its national budget on education. 5 Some countries, including Costa Rica and Bolivia, have invested as much as 20 percent of their budgets in education. Women's wages rise by 10 to 20 percent for each year of schooling. 3 Education enhances women's productivity in both farm and non-farm sectors. Four years of school boosts farmers' annual productivity by an average of 9 percent.