Effect of Foreign Aid on School Enrollment: An Application of the Latent Growth Curve Model

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Money, Aid, and Education

Abstract

A large body of literature has questioned the effectiveness of foreign aid. However, not many studies have focused on the education sector. A few studies that examined the effect of foreign aid on educational outcomes, used an econometric approach. This study assumes that countries have different growth trajectories. It applies a latent growth model to examine the effect of foreign aid in primary education on primary school enrollment in 75 low and lower middle-income countries. In contrast to the previous studies, this study shows no evidence of positive effect of foreign aid in education on school enrollment. The study also found a significant association between past level of enrollment and the rate of increase over time.

Author

• Bommi Lee, Vanderbilt University