Working Paper: NBER ID: w26006
Authors: Harounan Kazianga; Leigh L. Linden; Ali Protik; Matthew Sloan
Abstract: We evaluate the long-term effect of a “girl-friendly” primary school program in Burkina Faso, using a regression discontinuity design. The intervention consisted of upgrading existing three-classroom schools to six-classroom schools to accommodate more grades. After seven years, the program increased enrollment by 15.5 percentage points and increased test scores by 0.29 standard deviations. Students in treatment schools progress further through the grades, compared to students in non-selected schools. These upgraded schools are effective at getting children into school, getting children to start school on time, and keeping children in school longer. Overall, we find that the schools sustain the large impacts observed about three years earlier, with enrollment declining slightly from 18.5 to 14.9 for the cohorts of children who were exposed to both the first and second phases of the intervention.
Keywords: girl-friendly schools; Burkina Faso; education; enrollment; test scores
JEL Codes: I24; I25; I28; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| girl-friendly primary school program (A21) | enrollment rates (I24) |
| girl-friendly primary school program (A21) | test scores (C52) |
| girl-friendly primary school program (A21) | grade progression (O40) |
| enrollment rates (I24) | academic performance (D29) |
| girl-friendly primary school program (A21) | girls' enrollment (I24) |
| girl-friendly primary school program (A21) | girls' test scores (I24) |
| girl-friendly primary school program (A21) | girls' grade progression (I24) |