Less School (Costs), More (Female) Education? Lessons from Egypt Reducing Years of Compulsory Schooling

Arbeitspapier

Exploiting a unique policy reform in Egypt that reduced the number of years of compulsory schooling, we show how it unexpectedly increased education attainment as more students chose to complete the next school stage. This impact is almost entirely driven by girls from more disadvantaged households. Treated women later experienced important positive improvements in labor market opportunity and marriage quality, as measured by bride price received and household bargaining power. We attribute the increased investment in daughters' human capital to changes in the behavior of credit-constrained families facing reduced school costs combined with strongly non-linear returns to female education.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 13402

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Analysis of Education ; Education and Economic Development ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Economywide Country Studies: Africa
• Subject: school costs ; education investment ; gender bias ; female labor market ; marriage ; bride price ; Egypt

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Elsayed, Ahmed ; Marie, Olivier
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2020

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/223844
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET