The Impact of a Supply Side Educational Program on Women’s Empowerment: Evidence from Indonesia
Abstract: Education is considered a key component in the empowerment of women, and policy interventions such as investments in education can be effective in reducing gender- based inequality. To investigate the relationship between such a policy intervention and empowerment, this study investigates the impact of a large school construction program in Indonesia, where over 61,000 primary schools were constructed between 1973 and 1979. The study estimates the effect of the program on women’s empow- erment measured through an individual’s share of involvement in intra-household decision making. By utilising variation in an individual’s exposure to the school con- struction program based on district of birth and birth year, a difference-in-differences estimation model is used. The estimations show weak evidence of a positive rela- tionship between greater exposure to the program and a larger share of involvement in household decisions. For every additional school built per 1000 children, the in- crease in a woman’s share of involvement in intra-household decision making ranges from 0.19 to 1.27 percentage points.
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