Keeping Girls in Schools Longer: The Kanyashree Approach in India

IF 3.3 2区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Feminist Economics Pub Date : 2023-10-02 DOI:10.1080/13545701.2023.2263542

Gitanjali Sen, Dhanushka Thamarapani

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Regarding interventions aimed at preventing girls from prematurely dropping out of schools, this study shows that inducing economic empowerment of girls is possible with targeted policies that promote their reproductive empowerment. Using Kanyashree Prakalpa, a conditional cash transfer program implemented in West Bengal, India, that directly incentivized school attendance to delay child marriage, the study finds a strong association between program participation and successfully lowering the historically higher dropout rates post-middle school. Program-eligible girls are 12 percent (7 percent) more likely to be enrolled in or to complete secondary (higher secondary) school, respectively. Program participation is associated with approximately five more months of education. In fact, the efficacy of the program is highly correlated with the length of exposure, and the most benefits are reaped by children in the poorest households. The article discusses three policy interventions, including directly targeting girls as they transition from childhood to young adulthood. HIGHLIGHTS In West Bengal, Kanyashree Prakalpa, a unique cash incentive program, links educational empowerment with girls’ reproductive empowerment. Program participation is strongly associated with successfully lowering the historically higher dropout rates post-middle school. Policies directly targeting adolescent girls are fruitful compared to indirect influence. Policies complementing the cash transfer with other programs based on the girls’ academic achievement are useful.

查看原文本刊更多论文

让女孩在校时间更长：印度的 Kanyashree 方法

关于旨在防止女孩过早辍学的干预措施，本研究表明，通过有针对性的政策促进女孩的经济赋权是可能的。

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来源期刊

Feminist Economics Multiple-

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

4.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Feminist Economics is a peer-reviewed journal that provides an open forum for dialogue and debate about feminist economic perspectives. By opening new areas of economic inquiry, welcoming diverse voices, and encouraging critical exchanges, the journal enlarges and enriches economic discourse. The goal of Feminist Economics is not just to develop more illuminating theories but to improve the conditions of living for all children, women, and men. Feminist Economics: -Advances feminist inquiry into economic issues affecting the lives of children, women, and men -Examines the relationship between gender and power in the economy and the construction and legitimization of economic knowledge -Extends feminist theoretical, historical, and methodological contributions to economics and the economy -Offers feminist insights into the underlying constructs of the economics discipline and into the historical, political, and cultural context of economic knowledge -Provides a feminist rethinking of theory and policy in diverse fields, including those not directly related to gender -Stimulates discussions among diverse scholars worldwide and from a broad spectrum of intellectual traditions, welcoming cross-disciplinary and cross-country perspectives, especially from countries in the South