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Educational Investment Responses to Economic Opportunity: Evidence from Indian Road Construction

Author

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  • Adukia, Anjali
  • Asher, Samuel
  • Novosad, Paul

Abstract

The rural poor in developing countries, once economically isolated, are increasingly being connected to regional markets. Whether these new connections crowd out or encourage educational investment is a central question. We examine the impacts on educational choices of 115,000 new roads built under India's flagship road construction program. We find that children stay in school longer and perform better on standardized exams. Treatment heterogeneity supports the predictions of a standard human capital investment model: enrollment increases are largest where nearby labor markets offer the highest returns to education and lowest where they imply high opportunity costs of schooling.

Suggested Citation

  • Adukia, Anjali & Asher, Samuel & Novosad, Paul, 2017. "Educational Investment Responses to Economic Opportunity: Evidence from Indian Road Construction," MPRA Paper 80194, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:80194
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/80194/1/MPRA_paper_80194.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Aksoy, Cevat Giray & Carpenter, Christopher S. & De Haas, Ralph & Tran, Kevin, 2018. "Do Laws Shape Attitudes? Evidence from Same-Sex Relationship Recognition Policies in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 11743, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    2. Amrit Amirapu & M Niaz Asadullah & Zaki Wahhaj, 2018. "Marriage, Work and Migration: The Role of Infrastructure Development and Gender Norms," Studies in Economics 1810, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    3. Chaurey, Ritam & Le, Duong Trung, 2018. "Infrastructure Grants and the Performance of Microenterprises," IZA Discussion Papers 11749, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    4. Asher, Sam & Garg, Teevrat & Novosad, Paul, 2018. "The Ecological Footprint of Transportation Infrastructure," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274246, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. repec:eee:deveco:v:133:y:2018:i:c:p:375-395 is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Roads; India; Human capital; labor demand shocks; infrastructure; development;

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

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