The Impact of Eliminating Secondary School Fees: Evidence from Tanzania
Research output: Working paper › Research
In January 2016, Tanzania implemented a fee-free secondary school reform. Using variation in district and cohort exposure to the reform, we employ a difference-in-differences strategy to estimate the short-term impacts of the reform. Despite a relatively small drop in user costs, the reform substantially increased enrolment into secondary education. While these enrolment effects were predominantly driven by an increasein public school enrolment, there was also a delayed positive effect on private school enrolment. Districts most exposed to the reform experienced a significant drop in exam scores relative to less-exposed districts, which cannot be explained by academic abilities of new students. These findings are in line with a theoretical school choice model, where fee elimination loosens enrolment constraints, and increased enrolment harms the quality of public education.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 54 |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Series | Publications of the Development Economic Research Group (DERG) |
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Number | 06-2020 |
ISSN | 2597-1018 |
Links
- https://www.econ.ku.dk/derg/wps/06-2020.pdf
Submitted manuscript
ID: 254468410