The programmes also addressed a failure of previous education and health policies that focused too much on supply-side issues (as in the 1960s and 1970s) or on efficiency and the assumption of adequate “willingness to pay” (and, implicitly, ability to pay). Such programmes have now been implemented in a large number of developing countries, and in several cases also include social pension schemes. One evident advantage of these programmes is that they are relatively easy to implement, have an immediate impact and are affordable, typically costing a few percentage points of GDP (United Nations, 2008). This makes them highly attractive politically.