ERIC Number: ED615340
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jun
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Impact of Free Secondary Education: Experimental Evidence from Ghana. Working Paper 28937
Duflo, Esther; Dupas, Pascaline; Kremer, Michael
National Bureau of Economic Research
Following the widespread adoption of free primary education, African policymakers are now considering making secondary school free, but little is known about the private and social benefits of free secondary education. We exploit randomized assignment to secondary school scholarships among 2,064 youths in Ghana, combined with 12 years of data, to establish that scholarships increase educational attainment, knowledge, skills, and preventative health behaviors, while reducing female fertility. Eleven years after receipt of the scholarship, only female winners show private labor market gains, but those come primarily in the form of better access to jobs with rents (in particular rationed jobs in the public sector). We develop a simple model to interpret the labor market results and help think through the welfare impact of free secondary education. [Additional funding for this study was provided by the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL) Post-Primary Education Initiative, the International Growth Centre (IGC), International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), the Partnership for Child Development and the Nike Foundation.]
Descriptors: Access to Education, Secondary Education, Scholarships, Secondary School Students, Program Effectiveness, Gender Differences, Outcomes of Education, Employment Level, Educational Attainment, Labor Market, Foreign Countries, Knowledge Level, Job Skills, Health Behavior, Birth Rate
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (DHHS); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
Identifiers - Location: Ghana
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01HD039922; 1254167
Author Affiliations: N/A