Non-farm entrepreneurship and children's schooling: Panel data evidence from rural Côte d'Ivoire

Arouna Kouandou () and Inès Pérolde Zeh
Additional contact information
Arouna Kouandou: UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud, LEGO - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion de l'Ouest - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IBSHS - Institut Brestois des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]
Inès Pérolde Zeh: UBe - Université de Bertoua

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of household participation in non-farm enterprises on children's school enrolment in Côte d'Ivoire, focusing on children aged 3 to 12—the formative years for early learning and cognitive development. Using household-level panel data and two rigorous empirical strategies, we examine whether engaging in non-agricultural income-generating activities improves educational outcomes. Our findings indicate that participation in rural non-farm enterprises significantly reduces the number of out-of-school children, suggesting a positive link between income diversification and educational investment. Disaggregating results by location and gender reveals important differences. Non-farm entrepreneurship is positively associated with boys' school enrolment in both rural and urban areas, whereas the positive effect for girls is observed only in urban settings. This highlights a persistent gender gap in rural education access that non-farm income alone may not fully address. These results have clear policy implications. Promoting non-farm enterprise development—particularly in rural areas—can improve school participation rates, especially for boys. However, complementary interventions may be needed to ensure girls benefit equally. Overall, the study underscores the role of rural non-farm entrepreneurship in advancing human capital through enhanced educational outcomes.

Keywords: Non-farm entrepreneurship; Education; Inclusive development; Côte d'Ivoire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in International Journal of Educational Research, 2026, 137, pp.102924. ⟨10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102924⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05485770

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102924

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().