Does more schooling infrastructure affect literacy?

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines how the expansion in schooling infrastructure of girls as part of India’s Education for All program has increased female literacy and reduced gender gaps. To identify causal effects, I exploit the variation according to the targeting scheme of the programme which involved classifying subdistricts as either educationally backward or not. Using a regression discontinuity method, I find significant expansion in the number of girls’ schools and residential schools for girls, but no significant positive effect on either female literacy or the gender literacy gap. Cost-effective methods other than an untargeted, large-scale infrastructure programme should be explored.