The dissertation explores various aspects of education and its impact on societal dynamics. Chapter 1 delves into the challenges faced in secondary education in developing countries, particularly focusing on low completion rates. Primary education enrollment rates in developing countries have increased significantly over the past few decades, but secondary school completion rates have remained low and unequal. This study presents the findings of a randomized controlled trial I conducted in Benin investigating the effects of providing parents with information on how to manage their child’s time and effort on educational production through weekly phone calls. Across 2,094 8th-grade students in 20 secondary schools, the intervention led to a substantial 6 percent increase in grade completion. This stems from a statistically significant 0.11 standard deviation increase in year-end GPA, driven by STEM subjects. The intervention benefits academically weaker students, elevating their likelihood of progression by 37 percent. Educational improvements are due to parents improving their management of the household, reducing children’s chores, and becoming more involved and informed about what is going on at school. These results offer a promising and extremely cost-effective strategy for sub-Saharan Africa to improve educational outcomes and highlight the importance of parental management in the education production function. These results also highlight the crucial role parents with little to no education can play in improving their child’s performance if given the appropriate information. Chapter 2 addresses the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on global education, with a focus on learning losses and enrollment issues, particularly in developing countries. About 2 billion children were affected by school closures globally at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to documented learning losses while children were out of school and an especially precarious future academic path for pupils in developing countries where learning and continued enrollment remain important issues. There is an urgent need to understand the extent of these learning and enrollment losses and possible policy options to get children back on track. This paper studies the extent of learning losses and recovery in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, and provides some evidence that a full recovery is possible. Using data from a random sample of schools, we find significant learning losses of about .6 standard deviations in English and Math. However, a program designed to slow down the curriculum and cover what was missed during school closures led to a rebound within 2 months and a recovery of all learning losses. Students who were a part of the program do not lag behind one year later and remain in school. Chapter 3 explores the phenomenon of segregation, particularly white flight, and investigates its underlying causes, with a specific focus on the role of crime. There are several evidences of segregation, specifically white flight-type segregation. However, not much is known about the causes. This paper focuses on crime, a specific factor that might push whites out of cities, and examines how an influx of blacks affects it. I estimate the effect of an increase in blacks during the Great Migration (1940-1970) on crime during the Great Migration and post-great Migration. Between 1940 and 1970, more than four million blacks moved north. This massive movement created a change in the racial composition of destination places. Using FBI crime data and a shift-share instrument, I find that an increase of one African American during the great migration increases violent crimes by 21.28 in the 1970s and by 9.202 in the 1960s, while property crimes increased by 29.56 and 17.31 in the 1970s and the 1960s respectively. More specifically, all the seven index crimes respond positively to the increase of African Americans. Moreover, assuming that migration flows can impact crime with a 10-year lag, I find that the most recent inflow of blacks (previous 10 years) increases crime while the preceding 10 years’ black inflow reduces crime. Furthermore, the results of the post-great Migration period show that cities that received more blacks during the Great Migration experienced more crime after the Great Migration. Overall, the findings in this paper suggest that increased crime might be a reason why whites fled northern cities during and after the great migration. Future research is needed to quantify the contribution of racial and non-racial factors like crime to white flight. Overall, the dissertation contributes to our understanding of educational challenges and societal dynamics, emphasizing the importance of informed policy interventions and addressing underlying socio-economic factors in promoting equitable access to education and societal integration.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign