The women-empowering effect of higher education

Ahmed Elsayed and Alina Shirshikova

Journal of Development Economics, 2023, vol. 163, issue C

Abstract: We examine the effects of the large-scale construction of public universities in Egypt during the 1960s and 1970s. We found that opening a local university increased the likelihood of obtaining higher education degrees and had long-lasting positive effects on labor market and marriage outcomes, particularly for women. We give insights on internal migration as a channel and show that migration prior to university enrollment age decreased while migration after that age increased as an outcome of university construction. Local universities reduced men’s migration for study and women’s migration for early marriage. The paper highlights the importance of increasing access to higher education for positive social and labor outcomes, particularly for women.

Keywords: Higher education; Universities; Empowerment of women; Egypt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I23 J22 J24 O15 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:163:y:2023:i:c:s0304387823000561

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103101

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