The challenge
Indonesia set out to rapidly expand primary schooling across the country.
The case
Between 1973 and 1978 the Indonesian government's INPRES program built more than 61,000 primary schools across the country, one of the largest school construction programs on record. Economist Esther Duflo compared regions that got more or fewer new schools, and children young enough to benefit with those who were too old. Children aged 2 to 6 in 1974 received 0.12 to 0.19 more years of education for each school built per 1,000 children in their region of birth. Using the program to estimate the economic returns to education, she found each extra year of schooling raised wages by 6.8% to 10.6%.
Why it worked
Building schools on a huge scale got more children into education and raised their earnings as adults. The study also used the program to measure the economic return to each extra year of schooling.
Sources
- Duflo, E. (2001). Schooling and labor market consequences of school construction in Indonesia: Evidence from an unusual policy experiment. American Economic Review, 91(4), 795–813.
- NBER Working Paper 7860 (2000), same title.
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