The Universal Provision of Primary Education: Who Benefits?

by Dongshu Ou The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Abstract: Hong Kong began to provide six years of free compulsory education in 1971. This paper examines the causal impacts of this policy on individuals educational outcomes. Further, the free compulsory education law might change the educational resource allocation within families and subsequently affect the educational outcomes of their siblings. Using the regression discontinuity method and compare children who were born just before and just after the month in which the compulsory education law came into effect, I find that the law did reduce the probability of leaving school by the age of 12 or 14 for children. Further, it reduced the probability of leaving school by the age of 12 or 14 for the oldest brother and the oldest sister. There is also some evidence that the policy improved the labor market prospects of the oldest sister (of the marginal individuals who benefited from the policy) by reducing their likelihood of unemployment and increasing their probability of obtaining a white-collar job. The results might imply that even though the compulsory education law prevents early dropouts, the lengthened schooling does not necessarily transfer into better labor market outcomes.