Multi-generational effects of school access in a developing country: Evidence from a mass education program in Vietnam

Abstract

We study the long-run and multi-generational effects of a mass education program in Vietnam during the First Indochina War (1946–1954). Difference-in-difference estimations indicate that the girls exposed to the program had an average of 1.5 years of education, while their children had an average of 0.9 more years of education. Better household lifestyles and a stronger focus on education are possible transmission pathways between mothers and children.