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The Impact of Fundamentalist Terrorism on School Enrolment: Evidence from North-Western Pakistan, 2004-09

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  • Khan, Sarah

    (University of Göttingen)

  • Seltzer, Andrew

    (Royal Holloway, University of London)

Abstract

Islamist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere have sought to remove females from public life. This paper uses data from Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement and the Global Terrorism Database to examine the impact of the Pakistani Taliban's terror campaign in the north-western province of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa aimed at removing girls from school from the age of 10. Using a difference-in-difference-indifference approach, we show that low levels of exposure to terrorism had little effect on school enrolment. High levels of exposure reduced the enrolment rate for boys by about 5.5 percent and girls by about 10.5 percent. This decline in enrolment, although strongly significant, is far smaller than has commonly been portrayed in the media. Finally, although the Taliban warned students to enrol in madrassas rather than secular schools, we find no evidence that this led to increased madrassa enrolment in the affected regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Khan, Sarah & Seltzer, Andrew, 2016. "The Impact of Fundamentalist Terrorism on School Enrolment: Evidence from North-Western Pakistan, 2004-09," IZA Discussion Papers 10168, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10168
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Marco Alfano & Joseph-Simon Gorlach, 2019. "Terrorism, education and the role of expectations: evidence from al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya," Working Papers 1904, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    2. Nicole Stoelinga, 2024. "Education during conflict: The effect of territorial control by insurgents on schooling," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2024_03, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    3. Stoop, Nik & Verpoorten, Marijke & van der Windt, Peter, 2019. "Artisanal or industrial conflict minerals? Evidence from Eastern Congo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 660-674.
    4. Maria Safdar, 2020. "The Impact Of Terrorism On Economic Growth In Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 9(4), pages 191-201, December.
    5. Bertoni, Eleonora & Di Maio, Michele & Molini, Vasco & Nisticò, Roberto, 2019. "Education is forbidden: The effect of the Boko Haram conflict on education in North-East Nigeria," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    6. Muhammad Luqman & Saleem Ashraf & Babar Shahbaz & Tahir Munir Butt & Raheel Saqib, 2021. "Rural Development Through Non-State Actors in Highlands of Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; terrorism; Pakistan;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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