Mass Education and Women's Autonomy: Evidence From Latin America

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Demography
• Economics

Background:

• Low- and middle-income countries have widely implemented mass education reforms.
• It's hypothesized that increased schooling enhances women's autonomy and accelerates demographic shifts in the Global South.
• However, hypergamy norms may complicate the relationship between education and female autonomy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the causal impact of additional education on women's autonomy.
• To investigate the unexpected implications of mass schooling reforms in Latin America.
• To analyze how compulsory schooling reforms affect female autonomy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Demographic and Health Surveys from Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru.
• Employed an instrumental variable design using random exposure to compulsory schooling laws.
• Instrumented years of education with compulsory schooling reforms.

Main Results:

• For women affected by compulsory schooling reforms, further education decreased autonomy.
• This effect was particularly pronounced among women in rural Bolivia and Peru.
• Results were linked to changes in educational selection and union formation defying hypergamy.

Conclusions:

• Mass schooling may not uniformly enhance women's autonomy in societies with strong hypergamy norms.
• The impact of education on autonomy is heterogeneous and context-dependent.
• Examining population heterogeneity and cultural norms is crucial for understanding education's returns.