Political support, finance, administration and demand (the way families and individuals respond to services) are crucial linked factors in improving education, health, hygiene and nutrition, especially in the poorest areas of the developing nations. Recognizing these links, the World Bank staff responsible for preparing the World Development Report arranged a series of seminars and workshops in the fall of 1979, bringing together the authors of these papers, other consultants and invited experts, and a wide range of Bank staff to discuss the issues treated in these studies. The resulting interchange is reflected in the five studies in this volume. They are written from different disciplinary perspectives -- political science, public finance, and public administration respectively for the first three, and a combination of sociology and social anthropology for the papers on sociocultural influences and the role of the family.