Revisiting the Schooling Inputs Debate: Experimental Evidence From an Early Grade Literacy Intervention in Lao PDR

Uttara Balakrishnan, Jessica Li, Elnaz Safarha and Daniel Zaas

Review of Development Economics, 2025, vol. 29, issue 3, 1505-1521

Abstract: Despite the importance of interventions focused on schooling inputs, such as teacher training and provision of reading materials, there is mixed evidence on their impacts on the intensive margin of schooling. In this context, we provide evidence from a randomized controlled trial of a schooling intervention in Lao PDR, which focused on a combination of literacy activities, including teacher training, provision of reading materials, and community engagement in children's education. We show that the 2‐year effect of the literacy activities led to significant improvements in basic and foundational literacy skills for Grade 2 students in Lao PDR. We provide suggestive evidence that improvements in school environment (including more frequent engaging activities in the classroom by the teacher) and improvements in home literacy environment (such as encouraging children to read) play a key role in students' higher literacy outcomes.

Date: 2025
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