| Chapter 1 examines the effects of subsidized school meals on school participation, educational achievement, and child height and weight in a developing country setting. I use data from a program that was implemented in 25 randomly chosen preschools in a pool of 50. School participation was 30 percent higher in the treatment group than in the comparison group. The meals program led to higher curriculum test scores, but only in schools where the teacher was relatively well trained prior to the program. Progression rates to primary school were similar in treatment and comparison schools. The program led to an increase in the weight of boys but did not affect the weight of girls.; Chapter 2 examines the financial side of school meals in a developing country setting, using data from the same randomized program. I first examine the effect of school feeding subsidies on teacher attendance, and find no effect. Second, I examine the effect of school meal subsidies on school fees, and find that treatment schools raised their fees, while comparison schools close to treatment schools decreased their fees. The intention-to-treat estimator of the treatment effect on school participation incorporates those price effects, and therefore it should be considered a lower bound on the effect of generalized school meals. Third, I estimate the effect of school meals funded by parents on school participation. Using the data from the randomized project as a natural experiment, I find that increases in the reliability of parents' programs could be very effective at increasing school participation.; Chapter 3 examines the long-run effects of a program that provided educational inputs to children and lowered the price of education. In the first four years after its initiation, the program led to a decrease in school drop-outs and an increase in grade attainment. Seven years after the initiation of the program, two cohorts of children who were enrolled in the school prior to the program were tracked for their educational achievement and demographic status. There is no evidence that the children further benefitted from the program after the initial four years, which might be due to changes in the program. There is some evidence that the program delayed marriage for girls. |
