SMU SOE Seminar (Nov 22, 2017): The Long-run and Gender-equalizing Impacts of School Access: Evidence from the First Indochina War

Very few studies currently exist on the long-term impacts of schooling policies in developing countries. We examine the impacts—half a century later—of a mandatory educational program conducted by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in their 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. Interestingly, we also find some long-term spillover impacts of education: impacted girls enjoyed higher household living standards, had more educated spouses, and raised more educated children. We discuss several robustness checks and extensions that support these findings.