Working Paper: NBER ID: w14853
Authors: Emily Oster; Rebecca Thornton
Abstract: This paper presents the results from a randomized evaluation that distributed menstrual cups (menstrual sanitary products) to adolescent girls in rural Nepal. Girls in the study were randomly allocated a menstrual cup for use during their monthly period and were followed for fifteen months to measure the effects of having modern sanitary products on schooling. While girls were 3 percentage points less likely to attend school on days of their period, we find no significant effect of being allocated a menstrual cup on school attendance. There were also no effects on test scores, self-reported measures of self-esteem or gynecological health. These results suggest that policy claims that barriers to girls' schooling and activities during menstrual periods are due to lack of modern sanitary protection may not be warranted. On the other hand, sanitary products are quickly and widely adopted by girls and are convenient in other ways, unrelated to short-term schooling gains.
Keywords: Menstruation; Education; Nepal; Sanitary Products
JEL Codes: I21; J13; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Menstrual cups (Y90) | School attendance (I21) |
| Menstrual cups (Y90) | Test scores (C12) |
| Menstrual cups (Y90) | Self-reported self-esteem (I31) |
| Menstrual cups (Y90) | Gynecological health (I19) |
| Menstrual cups usage (I10) | School attendance (I21) |