The effect of African leaders' foreign education/training on the completion of primary education in their countries

The quest for the determinants of education in Africa has paid little attention to the role of political leaders; many of whom once received foreign scholarships. This article aims to examine the effect they have on education. We assume that foreign training encompasses factors guiding the choice of economic policies. The results of the estimation using fixed effect, random effect, generalized least square and Driscoll-Kraay methods on a sample of 219 leaders from 1975 to 2015 reveal that western and other African countries educated leaders negatively affect primary completion; the result is robust in autocracies. Studying abroad deprives leaders from their home country realities and orients them towards foreign policies.