Land Certification and Schooling in Rural Ethiopia

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of a rural land certification program on schooling in two zones of the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Using the variation in the timing of the arrival of the program at the local level, we investigate the link between land tenure security, schooling and child labor. The results show a positive effect of improved land rights on school enrollment for all children in one of the zones studied, and for oldest sons in the other. Grade progress of oldest sons, who are most likely to inherit the land, worsens.