One tragic consequence of recession, debt, and adjustment has been that many countries are now further from the goal of providing a primary school place for each eligible child than they were a decade or more ago. This paper demonstrates the ways in which this trend can be reversed and identifies the conditions necessary for achieving primary schooling for all children by the end of the century. The main policy instruments available to expand access in the context of fiscal restraint are assessed. Lessons of promising reforms are drawn from country case studies and the wider research literature. It is estimated that the total additional recurrent costs of achieving schooling for all by the year 2000 would, in the absence of policy reforms, amount to 58 billion dollars. The greater part of these costs could be accommodated by developing countries provided three conditions were met. First, governments would need to introduce policies to reduce costs and mobilize additional resources to finance expansion. Second, some restructuring of expenditures--in particular from military budgets toward education--would be required. Third, a return to economic growth in Africa would need to take place. If the above conditions were met, the financing gap that remained could be closed by transfers of between 1 and 1.3 billion dollars per year from 1990 to 2000. Forty-one references are included. (RH)