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The impact of household possessions on youth's academic achievement in the Ghana Youthsave experiment: A propensity score analysis

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  • Chowa, Gina A.N.
  • Masa, Rainier D.
  • Wretman, Christopher J.
  • Ansong, David

Abstract

Household assets as part of youth's family background have been found to have a significant impact on youth's academic achievement. In this study, the impact of household possessions on youth's academic achievement in the Ghana YouthSave experiment is investigated. Findings support the hypothesized positive direction of the impact of household possessions on academic achievement of youth. Results show youth from households that reported owning at least one of the five household possessions scored almost one unit higher on English than their peers from households that do not own any. However, results indicate ownership of household possessions does not have a statistically significant impact on Math scores of youth. Consistent with prior studies, this study presents evidence of the importance of family economic background, particularly asset ownership, on youth's academic achievement. Policy implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Chowa, Gina A.N. & Masa, Rainier D. & Wretman, Christopher J. & Ansong, David, 2013. "The impact of household possessions on youth's academic achievement in the Ghana Youthsave experiment: A propensity score analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 69-81.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:33:y:2013:i:c:p:69-81
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.08.005
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    Cited by:

    1. Kafle, Kashi & Jolliffe, Dean & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2018. "Do different types of assets have differential effects on child education? Evidence from Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 14-28.
    2. Chowa, Gina A.N. & Masa, Rainier D. & Ramos, Yalitza & Ansong, David, 2015. "How do student and school characteristics influence youth academic achievement in Ghana? A hierarchical linear modeling of Ghana YouthSave baseline data," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 129-140.
    3. María Jesús Mancebón & Domingo P. Ximénez-de-Embún & Mauro Mediavilla & José María Gómez-Sancho, 2019. "Does the educational management model matter? New evidence from a quasiexperimental approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 107-135, January.
    4. Kafle, Kashi R. & Dean, Jolliffe, 2015. "Effects of asset ownership on child health indicators and educational performance in Tanzania," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205687, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. María-Jesús Mancebón & Domingo P. Ximénez-de-Embún & Mauro Mediavilla & José-María Gómez-Sancho, 2015. "Does educational management model matter? New evidence for Spain by a quasiexperimental approach," Working Papers 2015/40, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    6. David Ansong & Gina Chowa & Rainier Masa & Mathieu Despard & Michael Sherraden & Shiyou Wu & Isaac Osei-Akoto, 2019. "Effects of Youth Savings Accounts on School Attendance and Academic Performance: Evidence from a Youth Savings Experiment," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 269-281, June.
    7. Hady Senghor & François-Charles Wolff, 2017. "Educational Inequalities between Siblings: Evidence from Six Sub-Saharan African Countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 29(2), pages 223-236, June.
    8. Elliott, William & Sherraden, Michael, 2013. "Assets and educational achievement: Theory and evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 1-7.
    9. Kafle, Kashi & Jolliffe, Dean & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2016. "Effects of household asset holdings on child educational performance: Evidence from Tanzania," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 249273, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    10. Ansong, David & Chowa, Gina A. & Sherraden, Michael, 2015. "Household assets, academic expectations, and academic performance among Ghanaian junior high school students: Investigating mediation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 101-110.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Human capital; Household assets; Household possessions; Academic achievement; Propensity score analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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