IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoedu/v104y2025ics0272775724001109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The age gradient in the effects of poverty alleviation program on schooling. Evidence from the Vietnam hunger eradication and poverty reduction program

Author

Listed:
  • Bertoni, Marco
  • Huynh, Quynh
  • Rocco, Lorenzo

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of the Vietnam Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction (HEPR) program on school enrollment and shows how it changes by age at first treatment. Using longitudinal data that span over 15 years and a difference-in-differences research design, we find that early treatment (age 8) increases enrollment by 9.9 percentage points. In contrast, the enrollment of children receiving treatment at later ages (age 12 and 15) is either unaffected or even reduced in rural areas, where it is paralleled by an increase in labor market participation. These divergent results by age and area of residence depend on two components: first, the effect of subsidizing education declines with the age of first treatment; second, starting from age 15, HEPR beneficiaries residing in rural areas are entitled with free access to the Vocational Training Program, which favors a prompt transition to the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Bertoni, Marco & Huynh, Quynh & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2025. "The age gradient in the effects of poverty alleviation program on schooling. Evidence from the Vietnam hunger eradication and poverty reduction program," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:104:y:2025:i:c:s0272775724001109
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102616
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775724001109
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102616?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric V. Edmonds & Norbert Schady, 2012. "Poverty Alleviation and Child Labor," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 100-124, November.
    2. Marrit Van den Berg & Nguyen Viet Cuong, 2011. "Impact of Public and Private Cash Transfers on Poverty and Inequality: Evidence from Vietnam," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 29(6), pages 689-728, November.
    3. James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 31-47, May.
    4. Glewwe, Paul & Kassouf, Ana Lucia, 2012. "The impact of the Bolsa Escola/Familia conditional cash transfer program on enrollment, dropout rates and grade promotion in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 505-517.
    5. Orazio Attanasio & Emla Fitzsimons & Ana Gomez & Martha Isabel Gutiérrez & Costas Meghir & Alice Mesnard, 2010. "Children's Schooling and Work in the Presence of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Rural Colombia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(2), pages 181-210, January.
    6. Tinh Doan & Quan Le & Tuyen Quang Tran, 2018. "Lost in Transition? Declining Returns to Education in Vietnam," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(2), pages 195-216, April.
    7. Hainmueller, Jens & Xu, Yiqing, 2013. "ebalance: A Stata Package for Entropy Balancing," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 54(i07).
    8. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D’Haultfœuille, 2023. "Two-way fixed effects and differences-in-differences with heterogeneous treatment effects: a survey," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 26(3), pages 1-30.
    9. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2008. "Formulating, Identifying and Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(4).
    10. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    11. Susan W Parker & Tom Vogl, 2023. "Do Conditional Cash Transfers Improve Economic Outcomes in the Next Generation? Evidence from Mexico," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(655), pages 2775-2806.
    12. Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Zhao, Jun, 2020. "Doubly robust difference-in-differences estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 219(1), pages 101-122.
    13. Dizon-Ross, Rebecca & Dupas, Pascaline & Robinson, Jonathan, 2017. "Governance and the effectiveness of public health subsidies: Evidence from Ghana, Kenya and Uganda," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 150-169.
    14. Peter Lanjouw & Marleen Marra & Cuong Nguyen, 2017. "Vietnam’s Evolving Poverty Index Map: Patterns and Implications for Policy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 93-118, August.
    15. Jere R. Behrman & Susan W. Parker & Petra E. Todd, 2011. "Do Conditional Cash Transfers for Schooling Generate Lasting Benefits?: A Five-Year Followup of PROGRESA/Oportunidades," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(1), pages 93-122.
    16. Hai-Anh H. Dang & Paul W. Glewwe, 2018. "Well Begun, but Aiming Higher: A Review of Vietnam’s Education Trends in the past 20 Years and Emerging Challenges," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(7), pages 1171-1195, July.
    17. Basu, Kaushik & Van, Pham Hoang, 1998. "The Economics of Child Labor," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 412-427, June.
    18. van de Walle, Dominique, 2004. "Testing Vietnam's public safety net," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 661-679, December.
    19. Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Douglas Almond, 2016. "Long-Run Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 903-934, April.
    20. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    21. Dai Binh Tran & Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat, 2023. "The returns to education and wage penalty from overeducation: New evidence from Vietnam," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 1267-1290, October.
    22. Jonathan Roth, 2022. "Pretest with Caution: Event-Study Estimates after Testing for Parallel Trends," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 305-322, September.
    23. Roth, Jonathan & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Bilinski, Alyssa & Poe, John, 2023. "What’s trending in difference-in-differences? A synthesis of the recent econometrics literature," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 235(2), pages 2218-2244.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thakurata, Indrajit & D'Souza, Errol, 2018. "Child labour and human capital in developing countries - A multi-period stochastic model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 67-81.
    2. Paul Bingley & Lorenzo Cappellari & Marco Ovidi, 2023. "When it hurts the most: timing of parental job loss and a child’s education," LISER Working Paper Series 2023-12, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    3. Gregory Faletto, 2023. "Fused Extended Two-Way Fixed Effects for Difference-in-Differences With Staggered Adoptions," Papers 2312.05985, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2025.
    4. Arne Henningsen & Guy Low & David Wuepper & Tobias Dalhaus & Hugo Storm & Dagim Belay & Stefan Hirsch, 2024. "Estimating Causal Effects with Observational Data: Guidelines for Agricultural and Applied Economists," IFRO Working Paper 2024/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    5. Sonia Bhalotra & Martin Karlsson & Therese Nilsson & Nina Schwarz, 2022. "Infant Health, Cognitive Performance, and Earnings: Evidence from Inception of the Welfare State in Sweden," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1138-1156, November.
    6. Drange, Nina & Sandsør, Astrid Marie Jorde, 2024. "The effects of a free universal after-school program on child academic outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Duncan Webb, 2022. "Critical Periods in Cognitive and Socioemotional Development: Evidence from Weather Shocks in Indonesia," Working Papers halshs-03542607, HAL.
    8. Edmonds, Eric V. & Shrestha, Maheshwor, 2014. "You get what you pay for: Schooling incentives and child labor," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 196-211.
    9. Dmitry Arkhangelsky & Guido Imbens, 2023. "Causal Models for Longitudinal and Panel Data: A Survey," Papers 2311.15458, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2024.
    10. Roth, Jonathan & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Bilinski, Alyssa & Poe, John, 2023. "What’s trending in difference-in-differences? A synthesis of the recent econometrics literature," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 235(2), pages 2218-2244.
    11. Molina Millán, Teresa & Macours, Karen & Maluccio, John A. & Tejerina, Luis, 2020. "Experimental long-term effects of early-childhood and school-age exposure to a conditional cash transfer program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    12. Huang, Wei & Liu, Hong, 2023. "Early childhood exposure to health insurance and adolescent outcomes: Evidence from rural China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    13. Bolbocean, Corneliu & Tylavsky, Frances A., 2021. "The impact of safety net programs on early-life developmental outcomes," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    14. Lazuka, Volha, 2018. "The long-term health benefits of receiving treatment from qualified midwives at birth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 415-433.
    15. Janet Currie & Maya Rossin‐Slater, 2015. "Early‐Life Origins of Life‐Cycle Well‐Being: Research and Policy Implications," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 208-242, January.
    16. Marianne Bitler & Theodore F. Figinski, 2024. "Long-Run Effects of Food Assistance: Evidence from the Food Stamp Program and Administrative Data," NBER Working Papers 33182, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Kamila Cygan-Rehm, 2022. "Lifetime Consequences of Lost Instructional Time in the Classroom: Evidence from Shortened School Years," CESifo Working Paper Series 9892, CESifo.
    18. Bertoni, Marco & Huynh, Quynh & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2019. "The Effects of the Vietnam Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction Program on Schooling," IZA Discussion Papers 12747, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Bloomfield, Juanita & Cabrera, José María, 2024. "Long-term impacts on education of a cash transfer during early-life," MPRA Paper 121469, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Paredes, Tatiana, 2017. "The long-term effects of cash transfers on education and labor market outcomes," MPRA Paper 88809, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 03 Sep 2018.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child poverty; Anti-poverty programs; School enrollment; Child work; Vietnam;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:104:y:2025:i:c:s0272775724001109. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/econedurev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.