Orphans and schooling in Africa: a longitudinal analysis.
AIDS deaths could have a major impact on economic development by affecting the human capital accumulation of the next generation. We estimate the impact of parent death on primary school participation using an unusual five-year panel data set of over 20,000 Kenyan children. There is a substantial decrease in school participation following a parent death and a smaller drop before the death (presumably due to pre-death morbidity). Estimated impacts are smaller in specifications without individual fixed effects, suggesting that estimates based on cross-sectional data are biased toward zero. Effects are largest for children whose mothers died and, in a novel finding, for those with low baseline academic performance.
Evans
David K
DK
RAND Corporation, USA.
Miguel
Edward
E
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors