"The Classroom of Babel": Effect of Local Language Instruction on Human Capital in Uganda
[Abstract] This paper studies whether early exposure to local language instruction improves later human capital outcomes in Uganda. I exploit the 2007 rollout of Uganda's Thematic Curriculum, which introduced local languages as the medium of instruction in lower primary grades, and use birth dates around the January school-entry cutoff to compare adjacent cohorts with different intended exposure to the reform. Because a canonical regression discontinuity around the cutoff confounds policy exposure with relative-age effects and irregularities in recorded birth dates, I instead implement a difference-in-discontinuities design that compares January discontinuities across policy-transition cohorts and placebo cohorts. Using the 2024 Uganda Census, I find patterns consistent with positive effects on later outcomes, with estimates of about 0.72 additional years of schooling, a 5.5 percentage point increase in literacy, and a 1.6 percentage point increase in employment. The paper contributes by providing new evidence on the long-run effects of local language instruction on the extensive margin and by clarifying how birth-date quality and school-entry enforcement shape the interpretation of school-entry-cutoff designs in this setting.
Green Shoots: Seeding a Market for Certified Cassava Cuttings in Rwanda
with Shilpa Aggarwal, Athanase Nduwumuremyi, Jonathan Robinson, Alan Spearot, and Guanghong Xu
[Abstract] Widespread adoption of improved seed varieties is vital for food security, but many countries lack capacity to produce and multiply improved varieties at scale. This issue is particularly salient for vegetatively propagated crops such as the crop of interest in this study (cassava), since planting materials are heavy and must be planted soon after harvest, and so multiplication of such crops must be done locally. We experimentally provide cooperatives with certified planting materials and offer them the opportunity to be certified by the Rwandan inspection agency. We measure outcomes for both the cooperatives themselves as well as for neighboring farmers who now have the opportunity to purchase improved cuttings from the treatment group. At the cooperative level, our primary outcomes are disease prevalence, harvest, and sales (of both cuttings and roots). At the farmer level, our primary outcomes are the adoption of improved cuttings.
The Fruits of Globalization: Connecting Rwandan Horticultural Farmers to Export Value Chains
with Shilpa Aggarwal, Jonathan Robinson, and Alan Spearot
Pilot ongoing
The Effect of the Language of Instruction Policy on Educational Attainment: Evidence from African Countries
Is the level of educational attainment hindered when students are taught in a language which they are less familiar with?
[Abstract] In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than a fifth of children and a third of youth are out of school. This study focuses on the unique linguistic aspect of Africa as the source of low educational achievement. Due to the discrepancy between the official language and the mother-tongue language, there are many countries in Africa where the medium of instruction is not their home language. Using a novel dataset containing the language of instruction policy for 54 African countries from 1970 to 2017, I find that the countries in which students are taught under transitional models and international languages have a significantly lower level of educational attainment than those in which students are taught in their native languages. I also find an additional year of mother-tongue instruction in the first four years in primary education increases average school life expectancy by around 0.25 years. These results suggest that the implementation of supplementary mother-tongue programs in African countries with limited mother-tongue instruction can help underachieved students.
The Impacts of Quality Disclosure for Diabetes Care on Consumers' Selections and Providers' Responses: Using Regression Discontinuity Design
with Hyuncheol Bryant Kim (HKUST) & Jaeyong Shin (Yonsei University)
The Effect of Natural Disasters on Children: Evidence from Yogyakartan Earthquake in Indonesia
with Elizabeth Kayoon Hur, Haedong Kim, and Jaeyeon Shin
Examines households’ behavior to reduce educational and health input to their children due to Yogyakartan earthquake in Indonesia, using the Difference-In-Differences analysis with the IFLS (Indonesian Family Life Survey) data