| By: |
Adukia, Anjali;
Asher, Samuel;
Novosad, Paul |
| Abstract: |
The rural poor in developing countries, once economically isolated, are
increasingly being connected to regional markets. Whether these new
connections crowd out or encourage educational investment is a central
question. We examine the impacts on educational choices of 115,000 new roads
built under India's flagship road construction program. We find that children
stay in school longer and perform better on standardized exams. Treatment
heterogeneity supports the predictions of a standard human capital investment
model: enrollment increases are largest where nearby labor markets offer the
highest returns to education and lowest where they imply high opportunity
costs of schooling. |
| Keywords: |
Education; Roads; India; Human capital; labor demand shocks; infrastructure; development |
| JEL: |
I25 J24 O18 |
| Date: |
2017–01 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:80194&r=tre |