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on Education |
| By: | Moshoeshoe, Ramaele |
| Abstract: | Many sub-Saharan African countries have instituted Free Primary Education (FPE) policies, which significantly increase primary school enrolment rates in developing countries. However, school attendance is different from learning. The main questions that still beg for answers are whether the many children in school are learning and whether the FPE learning effects are long-lasting. This paper attempts to estimate the long-term effects of the FPE programme on educational achievement in Lesotho. The programme was implemented grade by grade, beginning with grade one school fees abolition in 2000. The POLICY BRIEF Long Term Effects of Free Primary Education on Educational Achievement: Evidence from Lesotho Ramaele Moshoeshoe October 2023 / No.796 2 Policy Brief No.796 timing of the implementation created changes in programme coverage across age (and grade) groups over time. We employ a semi-parametric difference-in-differences strategy that exploits these variations to identify the long-term effects of the FPE policy on educational achievement, using university examinations record data for student cohorts that are FPE-treated and those that are FPE-untreated. The results indicate that the FPE effect on academic performance is between 2 percentage points (statistically insignificant) and 20 percentage points (statistically significant at a 1 percent level). |
| Date: | 2024–04–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aer:wpaper:4c9694b1-f491-49ef-b130-bb583299e8d8 |
| By: | Ailin He (McGill University); Laetitia Renee (Department of Economics, University of Montreal); Nagham Sayour (Zayed University) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of affordable after-school care programs on the labor market outcomes of mothers. Specifically, we analyze the effects of a policy implemented in Quebec (Canada) in 1998, which reduced the costs and expanded the availability of after-school care programs for primary school children. To identify the causal effects of the policy, we use tax return data and a triple difference strategy, where we compare mothers of primary school children in Quebec and the rest of Canada, before and after the policy, relative to women with no children. Ten years after the policy implementation, we find an average increase in after-school care use of at least 32 school days. This increase is associated with a significant 11% increase in labor income for mothers with primary school children, mainly driven by an increase at the intensive margin of labor supply. |
| Keywords: | after-school care, maternal income, triple-difference |
| JEL: | J22 J13 J18 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grc:wpaper:24-04 |
| By: | Amélie Allegre (School of Economics, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom); Oana Borcan (School of Economics, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom); Christa Brunnschweiler (Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | We examine colonial-era primary education as a determinant of modern-day attainment and gender disparities in education. We construct a novel dataset from the French Protectorate in Morocco, combining archival data on colonial school locations in 1931 and 1954 with the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data in arbitrary grids. We analyse the influence of colonial schools on the probability of attaining primary and secondary education in 2004. Overall, schools dedicated to Moroccans in 1931 exhibit a persistent positive impact on education outcomes, but only in the absence of nearby schools reserved for Europeans. Stark gender gaps in access during the Protectorate were narrowed in places with schools for Jewish Moroccans. These had a positive impact on girls’ contemporary levels of education, but a negative impact on the enrolment for boys following the dismantling of Jewish communities after 1948. DHS measures of preferences for female education point to a social norms transmission mechanism between Jewish and Muslim Moroccan communities. |
| Keywords: | education, colonial legacy, female education, Morocco, French Protectorate |
| JEL: | N37 O15 I21 |
| Date: | 2025–03–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nst:samfok:20225 |
| By: | Ogolla, Michael; Nyabaro, Violet; Ngugi, Rose; Onsomu, Eldah |
| Abstract: | Human capital accumulation through education is important for sustainable development. However, access to education is dependent on several household factors, including presence of a school, childrens health and nutrition, among other inputs. The study sought to assess the effect of school feeding programmes on school enrolment while controlling for various households, learner and school level factors. The study used the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) 2015/16 data, which is a national household dataset with household and community-level information. A probit model was used to undertake the analysis at three basic levels of education, namely: pre-primary, primary and secondary levels. The results show mixed effects of the school feeding programme on enrolment, which differ according to the level of education and type of school. In the pooled sample, there was no significant effect of school feeding programme on enrolment at pre-primary school level, while substantive effects were observed in primary and secondary school levels. The effect of school feeding programmes in public schools is negative whereas it is positive in private schools. The presence of school feeding programmes in pre-primary and primary school levels in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) leads to increased enrolment in both the pooled and ASAL sub-sample, whereas access to government bursaries has immense positive outcomes on secondary school enrolment. It is recommended that targeting of school feeding programmes be improved to select schools among low income communities in the ASALs and informal settlements in urban areas. There is need to ensure timely disbursement of funds towards public school feeding programmes at all levels of education. There is also need for increased investment towards bursaries in secondary schools. Finally, county governments need to provide financial support to public pre-primary schools towards school feeding programmes. |
| Date: | 2024–08–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aer:wpaper:f8cc4c60-6c78-43a4-9fd4-e77c9b2170da |