Education, marriage, and banning female genital cutting: evidence from Benin
利用贝宁2003年禁止女性割礼的自然实验，发现禁令虽降低了割礼发生率，却意外减少了女性受教育年限和入学概率，同时增加了婚姻和配偶匹配质量，但免费小学教育政策抵消了负面教育影响。
Abstract Using the 2003 ban of female genital cutting in Benin as a natural experiment, I estimate the effect of the ban on women’s human capital accumulation. The ban decreases the likelihood of a woman undergoing genital cutting despite inconsistent enforcement. Banning female genital cutting has a counter-intuitive effect on women’s education. A difference-in-differences estimation indicates that the ban decreases women’s years of education, the probability of completing primary school, and the probability of starting secondary school. I show that the decrease in educational outcomes is accompanied by an increase in marriage and increased spousal match quality. The negative effect on women’s education dissipates following the implementation of free primary education in Benin.