Purpose

The study aims to provide insight on the potential effectiveness of demand-side financing for catalyzing improved educational outcomes in Malawi; and, given the extent of cost-related constraints to school contexts in other low-income countries, the results have relevance for education policy decisions more broadly.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilizes a non-equivalent groups research design to compare the educational experiences and outcomes of two student groups – those who did and those who did not receive a needs-based scholarship to attend secondary school and college in the Dowa, Kasungu, and Lilongwe Districts of Malawi. The authors assess impacts across a range of short and medium-term outcomes, including: school attendance, withdrawal, attainment, graduation, employment status, employment quality, and post-schooling income.

Findings

The scholarship substantially reduces the household cost of participation in school, and reduces the distance travelled to school. As a result, scholarship recipients attain between 1 and 1.5 years of additional schooling and graduate at higher rates. In terms of post-schooling outcomes, recipients are in higher wage-earning occupations after leaving school. Overall, results suggest that scholarships are an effective demand-side strategy for improving educational attainment, progression, and potentially longer-term labor market outcomes.

Originality/value

The study adds new evidence on policy approaches for expanding access to educational opportunities and increasing labor market outcomes in a context (Malawi specifically and sub-Saharan Africa more broadly) where evidence on such demand-side interventions is still growing.

中文翻译：

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减少对入学和进步的限制：评估奖学金计划在马拉维农村的影响

目的

该研究旨在深入了解需求方融资在促进马拉维教育成果改善方面的潜在有效性；并且，鉴于其他低收入国家的学校环境与成本相关的限制程度，结果与更广泛的教育政策决策相关。

设计/方法/方法

本研究采用非等效小组研究设计来比较两个学生群体的教育经历和成果——那些获得和没有获得基于需求的奖学金以在 Dowa、Kasungu 和 Lilongwe 上中学和大学的学生马拉维地区。作者评估了一系列短期和中期结果的影响，包括：入学率、退学率、学业成就、毕业率、就业状况、就业质量和毕业后收入。

发现

该奖学金大大降低了家庭上学的成本，并缩短了上学的距离。因此，奖学金获得者可以获得 1 到 1.5 年的额外教育，并以更高的比率毕业。就毕业后的成果而言，受助人在离开学校后从事的收入较高的职业。总体而言，结果表明，奖学金是提高教育程度、进步和潜在的长期劳动力市场成果的有效需求方策略。

原创性/价值

该研究为在这种需求侧干预措施的证据仍在增长的背景下（特别是马拉维和更广泛的撒哈拉以南非洲）扩大教育机会和增加劳动力市场成果的政策方法增加了新证据。