Essays in Human Capital Development and Gender

Abstract

This thesis comprises three self-contained empirical essays that collectively explore the constraints to human capital development among youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. The unifying thread across the three essays is twofold. First, all three interventions target individuals during critical periods of human capital formation: from school-age children to young adults. Second, each chapter adopts a gender lens, either by explicitly evaluating gendered effects or by focusing on outcomes with precise gender dimensions. The essays are organised to reflect an intentional progression: from structural access to education to aspirational influences on schooling decisions, and finally to the role of self-perception in shaping economic outcomes.

The first essay examines the long-term and intergenerational effects of Kenya's 2008 tuition-free secondary education reform. Exploiting a regression kink design and recent Demographic and Health Survey data, the chapter estimates the causal effects of the reform on women's schooling, fertility, household wealth, and child health outcomes. While the policy significantly increased women's education, it had no measurable impact on the health of their offspring. This null finding motivates subsequent chapters by highlighting the limits of standalone structural reforms and the potential role of complementary interventions in realising the full benefits of education investments.

The second essay examines whether behavioural nudges can influence educational attitudes and gender norms among school-age children. The study evaluates a low-cost role-model intervention in Somalia in which male and female college students visited elementary schools to share their personal educational journeys. The intervention, randomised at the school and grade levels, improved gender-equitable attitudes among students, especially when delivered by female role models. In the long term, the role model intervention increased high school enrollment and reduced early marriage. This chapter highlights the potential of psychosocial inputs, such as relatable role models, to influence gendered norms and beliefs, thereby shaping educational trajectories.

The final essay focuses on young adults who have left school and are transitioning into the labour market. It evaluates the effects of socio-emotional skills (SES) training on employment outcomes in urban Tanzania through a randomised controlled trial. Participants received training in either awareness skills (e.g., empathy, listening), management skills (e.g., self-control, negotiation), or both. While the training had limited impacts on objectively measured SES, it significantly improved self-perceptions, particularly among men. Men who overestimated their SES showed better labour market outcomes, suggesting that an inflated perception of self may act as a behavioural signal in labour markets. This chapter extends the thesis's core themes by demonstrating that not only educational attainment, but also perceived ability, can enhance youth labour outcomes.