Publication: School Uniforms, Short-Run Participation, and Long-Run Outcomes: Evidence from Kenya
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Date
2020-02-24
ISSN
1564-698X online
0258-6770 print
0258-6770 print
Published
2020-02-24
Author(s)
Ngatia, Mũthoni
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Abstract
In recent decades, the number of evaluated interventions to improve access to school has multiplied, but few studies report long-term impacts. This paper reports the impact of an educational intervention that provided school uniforms to children in poor communities in Kenya. The program used a lottery to determine who would receive a school uniform. Receiving a uniform reduced school absenteeism by 37 percent for the average student (7 percentage points) and by 55 percent for children who initially had no uniform (15 percentage points). Eight years after the program began, there is no evidence of sustained impact of the program on highest grade completed or primary school completion rates. A bounding exercise suggests no substantive positive, long-term impacts. These results contribute to a small literature on the long-run impacts of educational interventions and demonstrate the risk of initial impacts depreciating over time.
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“Ngatia, Mũthoni; Evans, David K.. 2020. School Uniforms, Short-Run Participation, and Long-Run Outcomes: Evidence from Kenya. World Bank Economic Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40865 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO
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World Bank Economic Review
1564-698X
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