The Impact of Vouchers on Preschool Attendance and Elementary School Readiness: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural China

13 Pages Posted: 15 Nov 2013

See all articles by Ho Lun Wong

Ho Lun Wong

Lingnan University - Department of Economics

Renfu Luo

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) - Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP)

Linxiu Zhang

Chinese Academy of Sciences - Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy

Scott Rozelle

Stanford University - Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies

Date Written: August 2013

Abstract

Although preschool has been shown to improve children’s school readiness in many developing countries, preschool attendance in poor rural areas of China is still low. The high cost of preschool is often regarded as a major barrier to attendance. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of a one-year voucher/CCT intervention on preschool attendance and school readiness. To do so, we conducted a randomized controlled trial among 150 young children in a poor, rural county in China. Our analysis shows that the intervention, consisting of a tuition waiver and a cash transfer conditional on attendance, raised attendance by 20 percentage points (or by 35%). However, the intervention did not have measurable impact on children’s school readiness. We believe that poor quality of preschool education in rural China (in terms of both teaching and facilities) contributes to our findings.

Keywords: Preschool attendance, School readiness, Voucher and conditional cash transfer, Randomized controlled trials, Educational performance, Rural, China

JEL Classification: H75, I22, I28

Suggested Citation

Wong, Ho Lun and Luo, Renfu and Zhang, Linxiu and Rozelle, Scott, The Impact of Vouchers on Preschool Attendance and Elementary School Readiness: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural China (August 2013). Economics of Education Review, Vol. 35, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2353563

Ho Lun Wong (Contact Author)

Lingnan University - Department of Economics ( email )

135 Xingang Xi Road
Tuen Mun
Guangzhou, Guangzhou 510275
China
852-2616-7200 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ln.edu.hk/econ/staff.php?staff=alexwong

Renfu Luo

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) - Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP) ( email )

Building 917, Datun Road
Beijing 100101
China

Linxiu Zhang

Chinese Academy of Sciences - Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy ( email )

Anwai, Beijing, 100101
China

Scott Rozelle

Stanford University - Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

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