American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Schoolgirls, Not Brides: Education as a Shield against Child Marriage
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 16,
no. 4, October 2024
(pp. 109–43)
Abstract
We study the impact of a scholarship-based intervention aimed to reduce child marriage by fostering secondary education among adolescent girls in Niger. Using a large-scale randomized controlled trial, we find that after three years of implementation, the intervention led to large and positive effects. It halved both dropout and marriage rates and increased girls' and their parents' aspirations. Importantly, there is no displacement effect detrimental to the education and marriage status of nontreatment girls. Our results show that financial aid for education has the potential to transform adolescent girls' lives.Citation
Giacobino, Hélène, Elise Huillery, Bastien Michel, and Mathilde Sage. 2024. "Schoolgirls, Not Brides: Education as a Shield against Child Marriage." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 16 (4): 109–43. DOI: 10.1257/app.20220443Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
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