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The Long-Run and Gender-Equalizing Impacts of School Access: Evidence From the First Indochina War

Authored by: Hai-Anh H. Dang, Trung Xuan Hoang, and Ha Minh Nguyen

Categories: Statebuilding
Sub-Categories: Human Development
Country: Vietnam
Region: South and Central Asia
Year: 2018
Citation: Dang, Hai-Anh H.; Hoang, Trung Xuan; Nguyen, Ha Minh. 2018. The long-run and gender-equalizing impacts of school access : evidence from the first Indochina war (English). Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 8480. Washington, D.C. World Bank Group.

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Abstract

Very few studies currently exist on the long-term impacts of schooling policies in developing countries. This paper examines the impacts — half a century later — of a mass education program conducted by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the occupied areas during the First Indochina War. Difference-in-difference estimation results suggest that school-age children who were exposed to the program obtained significantly higher levels of education than their peers who were residing in French-occupied areas. The impacts are statistically significant for school-age girls and not for school-age boys. The analysis finds beneficial spillover and inter-generational impacts of education: affected girls enjoyed higher household living standards, had more educated spouses, and raised more educated children. The paper discusses various robustness checks and extensions that support these findings.