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The effect of the Universal Primary Education program on consumption and on the employment sector: Evidence from Tanzania

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  • Delesalle, Esther

Abstract

This paper uses the Tanzanian Universal Primary Education (UPE) program implemented between 1974 and 1978 to study the effect of education on household consumption and on labor market participation in a rural environment. Combining regional disparities of access to school with the timing of the program, I adopt a difference-in-difference approach. To estimate the returns to education for the entire population and not only for wage workers, I use a two-sample estimation approach to predict consumption for every household and find that education increases predicted consumption for household heads working in every sector. I also provide evidence that education increases the probability of working in agriculture for women. These results, at first surprising, suggest that education may influence the structural transformation and that returns to education are positive in agriculture, provided that skills taught at school are consistent with agriculture.

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  • Delesalle, Esther, 2021. "The effect of the Universal Primary Education program on consumption and on the employment sector: Evidence from Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:142:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x20304721
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105345
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    Cited by:

    1. Maxwell Mkondiwa, 2023. "Is wealth found in the soil or in the brain? Investing in farm people in Malawi," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 134-157, February.
    2. Dávila, Dayana & Alvarado, Rafael, 2022. "Análisis del impacto de la Ley Orgánica para la Promoción del Trabajo Juvenil, Regulación Excepcional de la Jornada de Trabajo, Cesantía y Seguro de Desempleo, sobre el desempleo juvenil en Ecuador," MPRA Paper 113709, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Livini Donath & Oliver Morrissey & Trudy Owens, 2023. "Benefits of enhanced access to education in Tanzania," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(3), May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human capital investment; Returns to education; Schooling reforms; Tanzania;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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