The effect of domestic work on girls' schooling: Evidence from Egypt
Document Type
Article (peer-reviewed)
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
In Egypt, girls’ work primarily takes the form of domestic tasks, which are not considered in many studies of child labor. This paper investigates the effect of girls’ work on their school attendance. It uses a modified bivariate probit approach to estimate the effect of work on schooling while allowing for the simultaneous determination of the two outcomes. It presents evidence that the substantial burden of girls’ domestic work leads to lower rates of school attendance. Policies that attempt to ban the labor-force work of children will have practically no effect on girls’ education in Egypt, while interventions reducing the drudgery of household labor through, for example, improved water and sanitation infrastructure, have better prospects for success.
DOI
10.1080/13545700903382729
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Assaad, Ragui, Deborah Levison, and Nadia Zibani. 2010. "The effect of domestic work on girls' schooling: Evidence from Egypt," Feminist Economics 16(1): 79–128.