The Net Impact of the Female Secondary School Stipend Program in Bangladesh

Fuwa, Nobuhiko (2001): The Net Impact of the Female Secondary School Stipend Program in Bangladesh.

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the secondary school stipend program for female students on student enrolment in Bangladesh. After a brief description of the stipend program, we examine both nationwide and project-level data on student enrolment. While the former data show little identifiable impact of the stipend program, the project-level data show significant positive impact of the program. We find that, on average, the stipend program increased female student enrolment by 2% above the prevailing trend rate of increase while the program had significantly negative impact on male enrolment. Thus the program had a major effect in closing the gender gap, thereby accelerating the trend that had already existed in Bangladesh before the stipend program was introduced in 1994.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: conditional cash transfer; impact evaluation; female education; stipend; Bangladesh
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources ; Human Development ; Income Distribution ; Migration; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I38 - Government Policy ; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J16 - Economics of Gender ; Non-labor Discrimination

References

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (1998). 1997 Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh.

Government of Bangladesh Ministry of Education (GOB) (1996). Stipend Operation Manual for Nationwide Female Stipend Program.

Khandker, Shahidur (1999) “Follow-up Study of Basic Skill Attainments and the Role of GEP on the Educational Achievements in Rural Bangladesh.” Mimeo. The World Bank.

Sen, Amartya (1990). “More than 100 Million Women are Missing.” New York Review of Books. Vol. 37, No. 20. 61-66.

The World Bank (1993). Staff Appraisal Report Bangladesh Female Secondary School Assistance Project.

The World Bank (1997). Bangladesh Female Secondary School Assistance Project Mid-term Review Report