Reducing the constraints to school access and progress: Assessing the effects of a school scholarship program in Malawi

Abstract

This study utilizes a non-equivalent groups research design to compare the educational experiences and outcomes of two student groups – those who did and those who did not receive a needs-based scholarship to attend secondary school and college in the Dowa, Kasungu, and Lilongwe Districts of Malawi. We assess impacts across a range of short and medium-term outcomes, including: school attendance, withdrawal, attainment, graduation, employment status, employment quality, and post-schooling income. The scholarship substantially reduces the household cost of participation in school, and reduces the distance travelled to school. As a result, we find that scholarship recipients attain between 1 and 1.5 years of additional school and graduate at higher rates. In terms of post-schooling outcomes, we find that recipients are in higher wage-earning occupations after leaving school. Overall, results suggest that scholarships are an effective demand-side strategy for improving schooling attainment, progression, and potentially longer-term labor market outcomes.