The intergenerational effect of tuition-free lower-secondary education on children’s nutritional outcomes in Africa

Alfredo Martin; Aleta Sprague; Amy Raub; Bijetri Bose; Pragya Bhuwania; Rachel Kidman; Arijit Nandi; Jere Behrman; Jody Heymann

doi:10.1080/17441692.2023.2291703

Global Public Health (Dec 2024)

The intergenerational effect of tuition-free lower-secondary education on children’s nutritional outcomes in Africa

Alfredo Martin,
Aleta Sprague,
Amy Raub,
Bijetri Bose,
Pragya Bhuwania,
Rachel Kidman,
Arijit Nandi,
Jere Behrman,
Jody Heymann

Affiliations

Alfredo Martin: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Aleta Sprague: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Amy Raub: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Bijetri Bose: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Pragya Bhuwania: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Rachel Kidman: Program in Public Health and Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
Arijit Nandi: Institute for Health and Social Policy and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Montreal, Canada
Jere Behrman: Departments of Economics and Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Jody Heymann: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2291703
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 19, no. 1

Abstract

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ABSTRACTOne in five child deaths under age 5 are a result of severe wasting. Malnutrition at early ages is linked to lifelong consequences, such as reduced cognitive skills, reduced earnings in adulthood and chronic health conditions. Countries worldwide have committed to addressing child undernutrition, and ending hunger is foundational to the Millennium Development Goals. In this paper, we study the intergenerational effect of providing free tuition in secondary school on future children’s nutrition. We combined a novel longitudinal dataset that captures educational policies for 40 African countries from 1990 to 2019 with the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). We identified three countries that introduced free secondary education several years after implementing free primary education. Exploiting this variation in timing we estimate the additional impact of providing free secondary education over free primary education. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find that introducing free secondary education significantly reduced wasting. Cohorts exposed to free secondary had an 18% relative decrease in wasting. The impact on cohorts exposed only to free primary was smaller and not statistically significant. Expanding free secondary education has long-term, intergenerational benefits and is an effective path to reducing malnutrition. Results are robust to different specifications.

Published in Global Public Health

ISSN: 1744-1692 (Print); 1744-1706 (Online)
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Public aspects of medicine
Website: https://www.tandfonline.com/RGPH

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Abstract

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