Intergenerational effect of an education stipend program on child development: Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

Human capital accumulation in early childhood is a critical stage in the life cycle for forming skills that have long-lasting economic consequences. This paper studies whether an education stipend program targeted at girls’ secondary schooling had an intergenerational impact on their children’s skills development years later. Exploiting two sources of variation in the intensity of program exposure and geographic eligibility, we find significant intergenerational gains in children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Assessing potential mechanisms, we find improvement in women’s empowerment along multiple dimensions and changes in parental investments and parenting behavior conducive to child development. We detect important changes in parent–child engagement and approach to child discipline, including a change in attitude regarding the use of physical violence to address child behavioral problems. Our results highlight the importance of considering the long-term spillover effects of policy interventions designed to empower adolescent girls.