Arbeitspapier
Locust infestations and individual school dropout: Evidence from Africa
This paper examines the effect of desert locust infestations on school enrollment of children and young adults between 3 and 24 years of age. We combine individual and household survey data from the 2005-2019 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program with data on the spatial distribution of locust events in Africa. We show that months of exposure to locust infestations have a negative and statistically significant impact on individual schooling status. We find that individuals from farming households are affected more negatively by locust infestations than individuals from non-farming households. We also find that individuals from poorer farming households have a higher school dropout rate than individuals from wealthier farming households, highlighting the role of negative income shocks as a possible transmission mechanism for the effects of desert locust events. Our results also show that the estimated effect is amplified by the household's head educational status. A series of additional robustness tests further corroborate our main findings. We provide a quantitative assessment of the impact of a permanent 1.5 °C rise in global temperature on the frequency of locust events and possible implications for schooling outcomes over time. The results show that a 1.5 °C rise in temperature will decrease accumulated years of schooling by about 1.2 years over a period of 10 years.
- Language
-
Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
-
Series: Oldenburg Discussion Papers in Economics ; No. V-440-23
- Classification
-
Wirtschaft
Analysis of Education
Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
- Subject
-
Desert Locust
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program
School Enrollment
Income Shocks
Current Schooling
Farmers
Africa
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Asare, Abigail O.
Dannemann, Bernhard Christopher
Gören, Erkan
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
-
University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics
- (where)
-
Oldenburg
- (when)
-
2023
- Handle
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Asare, Abigail O.
- Dannemann, Bernhard Christopher
- Gören, Erkan
- University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics
Time of origin
- 2023
Other Objects (12)
Exit exams and high school dropout
Exit Exams and High School Dropout
Noncognitive Skills, School Achievements and Educational Dropout
Noncognitive skills, school achievements and educational dropout
Age at Immigration and High School Dropouts
Age at immigration and high school dropouts
Noncognitive Skills, School Achievements and Educational Dropout
Does Classroom Gender Composition Affect School Dropout?
Age at immigration and high school dropouts
Can Welfare Conditionality Combat High School Dropout?
Education subsidies and school drop-out rates
Age at Immigration and High School Dropouts
Exit exams and high school dropout
Exit Exams and High School Dropout
Noncognitive Skills, School Achievements and Educational Dropout
Noncognitive skills, school achievements and educational dropout
Age at Immigration and High School Dropouts
Age at immigration and high school dropouts
Noncognitive Skills, School Achievements and Educational Dropout
Does Classroom Gender Composition Affect School Dropout?
Age at immigration and high school dropouts
Can Welfare Conditionality Combat High School Dropout?
Education subsidies and school drop-out rates
Age at Immigration and High School Dropouts
Exit exams and high school dropout
Exit Exams and High School Dropout
Noncognitive Skills, School Achievements and Educational Dropout
Noncognitive skills, school achievements and educational dropout
Age at Immigration and High School Dropouts
Age at immigration and high school dropouts
Noncognitive Skills, School Achievements and Educational Dropout
Does Classroom Gender Composition Affect School Dropout?
Age at immigration and high school dropouts
Can Welfare Conditionality Combat High School Dropout?
Education subsidies and school drop-out rates