Does mobile internet empower young women in sub-Saharan Africa? The effect of 3G on child marriage and teen pregnancy
[GDL Working Paper]
with Jet Wildeman, Karlijn Morsink

Sub-Saharan Africa has persistently high rates of child marriage and teen pregnancy. Recognizing the rapid expansion of mobile broadband internet (3G) – a key driver of social media access – we investigate the effect of 3G coverage on child marriage and teen pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa. We combine geo-referenced information on 3G coverage with marriage and fertility information for over 500,000 women-year observations from 20 sub-Saharan African countries between 2011-2022. Employing a two-way fixed effects estimator, we find that the risk of child marriage and teen pregnancy reduces substantially as 3G expands. Women are 1.7 percentage points less likely to get married during adolescence and 1.3 percentage points less likely to give birth, while older women are unaffected by 3G expansion. Heterogeneity analyses show that the effect is especially evident among wealthier and more educated women, as they are more likely to be early adopters. Complementary exploratory analyses highlight knowledge about family planning, attitudes towards women and children and behavioral change, including the use of contraception, as mechanisms, suggesting that simply the introduction of 3G is more powerful than most targeted conventional family planning interventions.

The effect of parental migration on children left behind: meta-analytical evidence on education and child labour
[GDL Working Paper]
with Emily Bergner and Anne Lieke Ebbers

This study presents meta-analytical evidence of the effects of parental migration on children left behind. To systematically analyse the existing empirical findings, we identified 33 papers with 577 estimates on education and child labour that were circulated between 2000 and March 12th, 2024. We complemented these with another 13 papers on educational aspirations that were systematically reviewed. Employing automated tools to increase the objectivity of our approach (litsearchr, ASReview), we find that on average children left behind show worse educational outcomes and are more likely to work than non-migrant children with no clear effect on educational aspirations. Yet, there is considerable heterogeneity. Children left behind in China show improved educational outcomes and less child labour. The consolidated evidence calls policymakers of countries with high emigration and/or internal labour migration to be aware of the possible challenges faced by left-behind children and to provide programs and safety nets for them.

RECONNECT: increasing student well-being after two years of COVID-19 disruption
[Working Paper]
with Jana Vyrastekova, Sara Arts, Constantina Markou

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown measures caused young people aged 14-25 to suffer particularly from loneliness and disconnect. We developed and tested a simple, cost-effective intervention called RECONNECT to increase student well-being. RECONNECT took place at a Dutch university in May-June 2022, and it consisted of three plenary meetings and a series of self-organized, small-group events. We perform a multivariate analysis of data from 150 students, including RECONNECT participants and non-participants. In parallel, we analyze qualitative data from six in-depth interviews as well as open feedback provided by participants. Our findings show the effectiveness of this simple intervention, which gave the students the possibility to reconnect socially with their academic peers. Prior to the intervention, participants who self-selected into RECONNECT reported heightened loneliness (1.13 points compared to the control group, p-value=0.017) and decreased well-being (5 points compared to the control group, p-value<0.001). The intervention improved self-reported well-being, with Satisfaction With Life increasing by 1.886 points (p-value<0.01). Though our study was conducted against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, it offers a broader insight: improving student well-being within a self-selected group is achievable in a relatively short time and with a low budget. The present study serves as a proof-of-concept for similar future efforts.

The power of recovery: Evidence of education gains in the aftermath of a natural disaster
[Working Paper]
with Jimena Pacheco & Juan Ponce

This paper explores the short-term impact of an earthquake which occurred in Ecuador in April 2016 on educational outcomes. The paper implements a difference-in-difference strategy with geo-referenced data to compare educational outcomes for children affected and unaffected by the earthquake. Unexpectedly, the analysis shows that students in earthquake-affected schools scored 0.25-0.30 points (out of 10) higher in the standardized secondary school-leaving exam ‘Ser Bachiller’ as compared to children in schools unaffected by the earthquake. This translates into a 12-percentage point increase in the probability of passing. The results are robust to placebo tests which vary time and place of exposure to the earthquake.  The paper demonstrates and suggests that the earthquake became an opportunity as it led to increased resource flows to the affected areas. Specifically, the earthquake was associated with increased educational expenditure per student and improvements in access to educational facilities which in turn translated into increases in test scores. We also explore other factors such as increased teacher, parental and community solidarity and commitment to education generated after the earthquake.