Non-farm entrepreneurship and children's schooling: Panel data evidence from rural Côte d'Ivoire

This paper investigates the impact of household participation in non-farm enterprises on children's school enrolment in Côte d'Ivoire, focusing on children aged 3 to 12—the formative years for early learning and cognitive development. Using household-level panel data and two rigorous empirical strategies, we examine whether engaging in non-agricultural income-generating activities improves educational outcomes. Our findings indicate that participation in rural non-farm enterprises significantly reduces the number of out-of-school children, suggesting a positive link between income diversification and educational investment. Disaggregating results by location and gender reveals important differences. Non-farm entrepreneurship is positively associated with boys' school enrolment in both rural and urban areas, whereas the positive effect for girls is observed only in urban settings. This highlights a persistent gender gap in rural education access that non-farm income alone may not fully address. These results have clear policy implications. Promoting non-farm enterprise development—particularly in rural areas—can improve school participation rates, especially for boys. However, complementary interventions may be needed to ensure girls benefit equally. Overall, the study underscores the role of rural non-farm entrepreneurship in advancing human capital through enhanced educational outcomes.