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Evaluating the Impact of Entrepreneurship Edutainment in Egypt: An Experimental Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Ghada Barsoum

    (American University in Cairo)

  • Bruno Crépon

    (CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - Groupe ENSAE-ENSAI - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - ENSAE Paris - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique - Groupe ENSAE-ENSAI - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Drew Gardiner

    (ILO - International Labour Organization)

  • Bastien Michel

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • William Parienté

    (UCLouvain - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain)

Abstract

We measure the impact of an edutainment television programme specifically designed to promote entrepreneurship among young adult viewers in Egypt. We implemented a randomized controlled trial following a non‐symmetric encouragement design and using cheap scalable incentives to measure the impact of the intervention. While the impact of the show appears otherwise more limited, we find that the good performance of female contestants improved viewers'—in particular, men's—general perceptions of female entrepreneurs. However, despite the apparent difficulties faced by women in setting up a business, the show also led viewers to think that discrimination against women was not as important as they had previously believed, highlighting the possible distorting effect of media content.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghada Barsoum & Bruno Crépon & Drew Gardiner & Bastien Michel & William Parienté, 2021. "Evaluating the Impact of Entrepreneurship Edutainment in Egypt: An Experimental Approach," Post-Print hal-04743181, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04743181
    DOI: 10.1111/ecca.12391
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://nantes-universite.hal.science/hal-04743181v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Janzen, Sarah & Magnan, Nicholas & Mullally, Conner & Sharma, Shruti & Shrestha, Bhola, 2025. "Going the distance: Hybrid vocational training for women in Nepal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).

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