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What drives the quality of schools in Africa? Disentangling social capital and ethnic divisions

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  • Hollard, Guillaume
  • Sene, Omar

Abstract

Two important lines of research have shaped our understanding of the ability of communities to engage in collective action. The first proposes ethnic division as a key determinant, with more ethnically-heterogeneous countries having worse economic performance and fewer public goods. The second focuses on social capital as a major determinant of the ability to engage in collective action. We expect trust among community members, a widely-used measure of social capital, to be an important and positive determinant of school quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Hollard, Guillaume & Sene, Omar, 2020. "What drives the quality of schools in Africa? Disentangling social capital and ethnic divisions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:74:y:2020:i:c:s0272775719300779
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.101929
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    Cited by:

    1. Diakité, Nanamoudou & Diallo, Ibrahima & Sene, Babacar & Sene, Omar, 2025. "Digital Divide and Access to Basic Services in West Africa: Empirical Evidence on Socioeconomic Determinants," EconStor Preprints 329654, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Hollard, Guillaume & Sene, Omar, 2016. "Social capital and access to primary health care in developing countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-11.

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    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

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