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Ramadan, fasting and educational outcomes

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  • Oosterbeek, Hessel
  • van der Klaauw, Bas

Abstract

Using a difference-in-differences framework, we estimate the impact of Ramadan on educational outcomes of Muslim students living in a non-Muslim country. For identification we exploit that the number of Ramadan weeks during the course that we study, varies from year to year, ranging from zero to four. Our main finding is that Ramadan observance has a negative impact on performance; one additional Ramadan week lowers the final grade of Muslim students by almost 10% of a standard deviation.

Suggested Citation

  • Oosterbeek, Hessel & van der Klaauw, Bas, 2013. "Ramadan, fasting and educational outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 219-226.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:34:y:2013:i:c:p:219-226
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.12.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Erik Hornung & Guido Schwerdt & Maurizio Strazzeri, 2022. "Ramadan intensity and subsequent student achievement," ECONtribute Policy Brief Series 027, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    3. Hornung, Erik & Schwerdt, Guido & Strazzeri, Maurizio, 2023. "Religious practice and student performance: Evidence from Ramadan fasting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 100-119.
    4. Theresa Thompson Chaudhry & Maha Khan & Azka Sarosh Mir, 2021. "Son‐biased fertility stopping, birth spacing, and child nutritional status in Pakistan," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 712-736, May.
    5. Nuryakin, Chaikal & Muchtar, Pyan A. & Massie, Natanael W.G. & Hambali, Sean, 2022. "Having exams during Ramadan: The case of Indonesia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    6. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    7. Abu Siddique, 2021. "Behavioral Consequences of Religious Education," Munich Papers in Political Economy 10, Munich School of Politics and Public Policy and the School of Management at the Technical University of Munich.
    8. Egidio Farina & Vikram Pathania, 2020. "Papal visits and abortions: evidence from Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 795-837, July.
    9. Melike Kökkizil, 2022. "Parental Religiosity and Missing School-Girls in Turkey," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS91, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    10. Paola Bertoli & Veronica Grembi & Judit Vall-Castello, 2020. "The Ramadan Effect in the Workplace," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp655, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    11. Méon, Pierre-Guillaume & Tojerow, Ilan, 2019. "The minority ethic: Rethinking religious denominations, minority status, and educational achievement across the globe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 196-214.
    12. D'Haene, E. & Desiere, S. & D'Haese, M. & Verbeke, W. & Schoors, K., 2018. "Religion, food choices, and demand seasonality: Evidence from the Ethiopian milk market," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276029, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Seiro Ito & Abu S. Shonchoy, 2020. "Seasonality, Academic Calendar and School Drop-outs in Developing Countries," Working Papers 2013, Florida International University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ramadan; Nutrition; Academic achievement; Intention-to-treat;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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