Working Paper: NBER ID: w23702
Authors: Marcella Alsan
Abstract: Recent policy debates on closing the education gender gap in developing countries have focused on cash transfers, but standard models of intrahousehold allocation imply that reducing the opportunity cost of girls' schooling might also be effective. I test this prediction using quasi-experimental variation from a national vaccination campaign targeting under-five children in Turkey. I find gains in health and human capital among age-eligible children of both sexes. However, educational spillover effects accrue exclusively to their adolescent, ineligible sisters. These spillover effects are increasing if the mother works outside the home and in the number of young children in the household, and are absent if an elder sister is present. My results suggest reducing morbidity among preschool children may have the added benefit of improving educational outcomes for their adolescent sisters in the developing world
Keywords: child health; gender equity; education; vaccination; Turkey
JEL Codes: I25; J16; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Vaccination campaign (I19) | decline in disability (J14) |
| Vaccination campaign (I19) | increase in literacy (I24) |
| Vaccination campaign (I19) | increase in educational attainment (I24) |
| Health gains of younger siblings (J13) | improvements in literacy of older sisters (I24) |
| Health gains of younger siblings (J13) | improvements in educational attainment of older sisters (I24) |
| Vaccination campaign (I19) | improvements in educational outcomes for adolescent sisters (I24) |
| Presence of older siblings (J12) | diminishes spillover effects on educational outcomes (I24) |
| Health of younger siblings (I14) | affects time allocation and educational opportunities of older sisters (I24) |