Universal secondary education, schooling and women's empowerment: Evidence from Uganda☆

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kazibwe, Douglas; Li, Jinhu
• 署名单位: The World Bank; Deakin University; Australian National University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103464
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Universal secondary education; Women's empowerment; human capital

摘要

We evaluate the long-term effects of Uganda's 2007 Universal Secondary Education (USE) policy, which expanded secondary education access through tuition-fee elimination and increased school capacity. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we exploit variations in birth cohorts and regional exposure to identify the policy's causal impacts on women's educational attainment and empowerment. Our results show significant gains in education and empowerment for women in areas with greater program intensity. We also find improvements in women's labour market outcomes, and in marriage and fertility including delayed age at first sex, birth, cohabitation, and spouse schooling differences. These findings highlight the potential for governments in sub-Saharan Africa to leverage secondary education investments in generating sustained improvement in women's empowerment.