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This contribution relies on four different approaches and data sources to assess and discuss the impact of child marriage on secondary school enrollment and completion in Uganda. The four data sources are: (1) qualitative evidence on differences in community and parental preferences for the education of boys and girls and on the higher likelihood of girls to drop out of school in comparison to boys; (2) reasons declared by parents as to why their children have dropped out of school; (3) reasons declared by secondary school principals as to why students drop out; and (4) econometric estimation of the impact of child marriage on secondary school enrollment and completion. Together, the four approaches provide strong evidence that child marriage reduces secondary school enrollment and completion for girls with substantial implications for agency. KEYWORDSChild marriage, education, out of school children, Uganda 1 JEL Codes: I21 RUNNING HEADER SUGGESTION: CHILD MARRIAGE, EDUCATION, AND AGENCY INTRODUCTION Child marriage is defined internationally as a legal or customary union involving a boy or girl below 18 years of age. 1 The practice remains highly prevalent for girls today, with close to one in two girls still marrying below the

Minh Cong Nguyen, a Ph.D. economist, is a consultant with the Africa Region at the World Bank. Previously, he served as a consultant with the South Asia Region, the Human Development Network, and the Private Sector Development Networks. His research focuses on household poverty and inequality and human development, as well as firm entry and exit, growth and productivity, using both household and enterprise surveys. He also contributes Stata routines that are used for statistical research by the academic community. Quentin Wodon is a Lead Economist in the World Bank's Education Global Practice, where he leads work on equity and inclusion in education, out of school children, and child marriage. He has worked on areas ranging from human development and infrastructure to public finance, poverty and gender in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. He holds graduate degrees in business engineering, economics, and philosophy, and Ph.D.s in Economics and in Theology and Religious Studies.