Education, Civic Engagement, and Political Participation: Evidence from School Construction in Malian Villages
利用马里村庄新建学校的准自然实验，发现教育显著提高了村民的协会参与、地方政治参与和当选政治家数量，但效果主要集中于传统强势家族。
We estimate whether opening of new schools increases educational attainment and affects civic engagement, political participation, and political selection in Malian villages. We compare the differences in educational attainment between individuals below and above the age of 9 as of school opening date by using a donut regression discontinuity design. Opening of schools drastically increases school enrollment. Using this exogenous variation in school enrollment as an instrument, we show that education increases participation in village associations, involvement in local political life, and the number of elected politicians from a village. Most of the effect of education is concentrated among individuals belonging to well-established families. This suggests a redistribution of roles to the dominant group of a village.