Community Information Campaigns Improve Girls' Education: Evidence from an RCT in Zimbabwe

Abstract

We examine the impact of a randomized Girls' Education Challenge project implemented in rural Zimbabwe. The multifaceted project initially provided information about girls' rights and education barriers to girls, caregivers, teachers, and other community members. Later, the project introduced a learn-to-read program and provided resources such as bicycles and books. The information campaign significantly improved mathematics performance and school enrolment in a short time frame. The subsequent provision of resources and curriculum changes corresponded to improvements in literacy but did not correspond to any additional improvements in mathematics and enrolment beyond what was observed following the information provision alone.

Keywords: Girls' Education Challenge, education, empowerment, information provision, economic development, field experiment, gender gap, EGRA, EGMA

JEL Classification: C93, I25, O15