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Can Interactive Online Training Make High School Students More Entrepreneurial? Experimental Evidence from Rwanda

Author

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  • Lafortune, Jeanne

    (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile)

  • Pugatch, Todd

    (Oregon State University)

  • Tessada, José

    (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile)

  • Ubfal, Diego

    (World Bank)

Abstract

We study the short-run effects of a gamified online entrepreneurship training offered to high school students in Rwanda during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a randomized controlled trial, we estimate sizeable effects of the 6-week training on entrepreneurial activity. One month after the training, participants in schools offered the training were much more likely to own a business than participants in control schools. The training induced students to participate more actively in their school's business club, to undertake more business-oriented actions, to improve their business practices, and to interact more with other youth and family members about their business ideas. We hypothesize that the training might have motivated treated students to sustain their business activities during the COVID-19 crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Lafortune, Jeanne & Pugatch, Todd & Tessada, José & Ubfal, Diego, 2022. "Can Interactive Online Training Make High School Students More Entrepreneurial? Experimental Evidence from Rwanda," IZA Discussion Papers 15064, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15064
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    randomized control trials; online education; entrepreneurship education; COVID-19; Rwanda;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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