This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
  4. Forthcoming Articles
  5. Schoolgirls, Not Brides: Education as a Shield against Child Marriage

American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics

ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)

Schoolgirls, Not Brides: Education as a Shield against Child Marriage

  • Hélène Giacobino
  • Elise Huillery
  • Bastien Michel
  • Mathilde Sage
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (Forthcoming)

Abstract

We study the impact of a scholarship-based intervention aimed to reduce child marriage by fostering secondary education among adolescent girls in Niger. Using a large-scale randomized controlled trial, we find that after three years of implementation, the intervention led to large and positive effects. It halved both dropout and marriage rates and increased girls’ and their parents’ aspirations. Importantly, there is no displacement effect detrimental to the education and marriage status of non-beneficiary girls. Our results show that financial aid for education has the potential to transform adolescent girls’ lives.

Downloads