American Economic Review Vol. 116 No. 9 2026
Intergenerational Impacts of Secondary Education: Experimental Evidence from Ghana
Abstract
We provide experimental evidence on the intergenerational impacts of secondary education subsidies in a low-income context, leveraging a randomized controlled trial and 15-year longitudinal follow-up. Secondary school scholarships delay fertility, reduce unwanted pregnancies, and change partner selection. Under-one mortality is reduced by half. We also document cognitive development gains of 0.24 standard deviations of test scores by age five among children of female scholarship recipients. Means-tested secondary school scholarships are a high-return investment, with a conservatively estimated US$4.1 in benefits for each US$1 the policy would cost the government in the long run.
- DOI
- 10.1257/aer.20241001
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 3586-3621
- Language
- en
- Sources
- crossref