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How does school travel time impact children’s learning outcomes in a developing country?

Author

Listed:
  • Clifford Afoakwah

    (Griffith University)

  • Isaac Koomson

    (University of New England)

Abstract

Nearly 88% of children in sub-Saharan Africa will not be able to read by the time they complete primary school. We explore this phenomenon by using household data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey to examine the link between school travel time and children’s learning outcomes. Using district variations in school density to resolve endogeneity associated with children’s travel time to school and their learning outcomes, we find that more than 90% of children travel on foot to school and this negatively affects their ability to read and write in English or French as well as their ability to read and write in their native languages. We further show that boys, children in rural areas and those who travel more than the 75th percentile travel time (30 minutes) have poorer learning outcomes. Our findings highlight number of class hours missed and poor health as the main channels through which school travel time affects learning outcomes. Policy initiatives to improve children’s learning should consider reducing the costs associated with their school travel time. Considering that governments have limited resources with competing needs, policies aimed at reducing travel time should generally target children who commute more than 30 minutes to school and those in rural locations.

Suggested Citation

  • Clifford Afoakwah & Isaac Koomson, 2021. "How does school travel time impact children’s learning outcomes in a developing country?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1077-1097, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:19:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s11150-020-09533-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-020-09533-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Martey, Edward & Etwire, Prince M. & Mockshell, Jonathan & Armah, Ralph & Akorsikumah, Eli, 2023. "Ecological shocks and children’s school attendance and farm work in Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    2. George Abuchi Agwu & Oussama Ben Atta, 2021. "University proximity at teenage years and educational attainment," Working papers of Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales (TREE) hal-03492963, HAL.
    3. Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Josephine Baako-Amponsah & Prince Danso, 2023. "Household National Health Insurance Subscription and Learning Outcomes of Poor Children in Ghana," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 357-394, February.
    4. Frempong, Raymond Boadi & Orkoh, Emmanuel & Kofinti, Raymond Elikplim, 2021. "Household's use of cooking gas and Children's learning outcomes in rural Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    5. Isaac Koomson & Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Esther Laryea, 2024. "Financial inclusion and multidimensional child poverty," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 237-260, March.
    6. George Abuchi Agwu & Oussama Ben Atta, 2021. "University proximity at teenage years and educational attainment," Working Papers hal-03492963, HAL.
    7. Edward Martey & Prince M. Etwire & Isaac Koomson, 2022. "Parental Time Poverty, Child Work and School Attendance in Ghana," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(4), pages 1489-1515, August.
    8. Oussama Ben Atta, 2022. "University proximity at teenage years and educational attainment," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2022 02, Stata Users Group.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School travel time; Reading; Writing; Calculation; Sub-Saharan Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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