Does public infrastructure affect human capital? The effect of improved transport connectivity on children's education in the Philippines
College
Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business
Department/Unit
Economics
Document Type
Article
Source Title
Economics of Education Review
Volume
73
Publication Date
12-1-2019
Abstract
While the literature acknowledges the importance of transport infrastructure and improved connectivity to economic growth, a less explored aspect is how these investments impact human capital. This paper seeks to address this gap by evaluating the impact of the Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) policy -a policy that allowed for a more efficient mode of inter-island transfer within the country -on school attendance in the Philippines. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we compare the school attendance of children in municipalities near the Ro-Ro and the non-Ro-Ro ports over the span of ten years. Our results show consistent improvements in school attendance of males and females in the primary, secondary and tertiary level of education in areas near the Ro-Ro ports. We also observe a reduction in child employment, especially in males. Additional tests reveal that the Ro-Ro policy was able to affect children's education through increased household income in areas near the Ro-Ro ports. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
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Digitial Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.101927
Recommended Citation
Francisco, K. A., & Tanaka, M. (2019). Does public infrastructure affect human capital? The effect of improved transport connectivity on children's education in the Philippines. Economics of Education Review, 73 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.101927
Keywords
Infrastructure (Economics)--Philippines; Transportation--Philippines; Human capital--Philippines; Basic education--Philippines
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