Schoolgirls Not Brides

Child marriage is recognized as a major burden in low-income countries, with severe consequences on women’s life trajectories. It is particularly pervasive in Niger, where middle school enrollment for girls is low, and dropouts are high. In the context of a multi-sectoral World Bank project, researchers evaluated the impact of a three-year intervention eliminating the financial and logistical barriers for girls admitted to middle school. Offering adolescent girls from vulnerable households in rural Niger scholarships and tutoring upon admission to middle school improved educational outcomes and wellbeing. Girls that received the program were 53 percent less likely to have dropped out of school at the time of follow up. They also reported a higher degree of life satisfaction. Importantly, there is no evidence that the positive effects on beneficiaries have been at the expense of non-beneficiaries. The program was effective in postponing girls’ marriage or engagement. Girls who received a scholarship program were 49 percent less likely to be married in the summer following their third year of middle school and 30 percent less likely to be engaged. The intervention raised girls’ educational and professional aspirations for themselves as well as parents’ aspirations for their daughter, plausibly due to changes in girls’ human capital and preferences. These results suggest that the intervention’s effects are likely to last beyond the mere duration of the scholarship.