Wheels of Power: Can Free Bicycles for Schoolgirls Free Their Mothers?

Anders Kjelsrud, Shabana Mitra and Karl Moene

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2024, vol. 72, issue 2, 423 - 457

Abstract: We study whether a social program to facilitate girls’ schooling in India increases the autonomy of mothers and other female family members. The program gives every girl in grade 9 a cash amount to purchase a bicycle. This targeted in-kind provision has the effect of lowering the price of educating girls. It also signals the worth of young women. We find a strong empowerment effect on older female family members. The effect is strongest in areas where the program has the biggest impact on girls’ schooling, suggesting that it is an indirect outcome of targeting benefits toward schoolgirls.

Date: 2024
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