The Effect of Access to Primary School on the Timing of School Enrollment: Analysis of the Ethiopian Education Reform

Abstract

This paper offers empirical evidence on whether access to primary school induces
children to enroll in primary school at the legal enrollment age using household
survey data from Ethiopia. We exploit the variation in the intensity of the impact of
the education reform across districts in Ethiopia to identify the effect of access to
school on the timing of enrollment. Using pre-reform enrollment rate in primary
school to measure the variation in the intensity of the impact of the reform, we
estimate difference-in-differences models. The results suggest that the reform has
substantially increased the probability the child enrolls in grade 1 by age 7. It is
also found out that the reform has decreased age at enrollment in grade 1 by about
4 months. These estimates highlight the important role access to school plays in
inducing parents to enroll their kids in primary school at the legal enrollment age.