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Should LMICs Build Preschools or Improve Primary Education? Experimental Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire

Author

Listed:
  • Abraham Yeo

    (Ministry of Education of Côte d’Ivoire)

  • Seydou Maiga

    (Ministry of Education of Côte d’Ivoire)

  • Bastien Michel

    (PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université)

Abstract

In Low-and Middle-Income Countries, there is a debate as to whether priority should be given to building preschools or improving the existing primary education system. To answer this question, we partnered with the Government of Côte d'Ivoire to implement a randomized controlled trial aiming to measure the relative impact of opening public preschools and of a multi-faceted intervention designed to improve the quality of primary school education. Both had positive effects on children' skills, but the preschools proved more cost-effective over the duration of the pilot. However, evidence suggests that this conclusion may not always hold, especially in the longer term. Finally, the two interventions appear to be substitutes, as their simultaneous implementation did not improve children's outcomes beyond what was achieved by each intervention when implemented separately.

Suggested Citation

  • Abraham Yeo & Seydou Maiga & Bastien Michel, 2024. "Should LMICs Build Preschools or Improve Primary Education? Experimental Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire," PSE Working Papers hal-04743069, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:hal-04743069
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://nantes-universite.hal.science/hal-04743069v1
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    File URL: https://nantes-universite.hal.science/hal-04743069v1/document
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