No use of schools: the heterogenous effects of conflict in Pakistan on enrolment rates of boys and girls
Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research
ISSN: 1759-6599
Article publication date: 18 April 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to estimate the impact of conflict witnessed in Pakistan on the enrolment rates of boys and girls. Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5–16 years not attending school.
Design/methodology/approach
By merging data on violence with the data on enrolment rates, this paper finds that exposure to violence is correlated with a decline in overall district-level enrolment rates in the short run at primary-level schools and middle-level schools.
Findings
However, for boys, violence is also negatively correlated with enrolment rates at middle-level schools in the medium run. One possible mechanism tested in this paper is the potential substitution of boys into the labour market during a period of conflict.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper adds to the existing literature in several ways. Firstly, the effect of conflict on the labour market by impacting schooling for boys and girls is examined for the first time in Pakistan. Secondly, the district-level data set on enrolment rates used for this study is novel and has not been used before for this type of analysis. Thirdly, while this study strengthens the evidence that the short run effects of conflict are stronger than the long-run effects, it also confirms the negative effects of conflict do not fade away immediately. Fourthly, this study emphasizes that each conflict is unique in terms of its heterogeneous effects across different cohorts, such as gender, as these effects are dependent on the mechanism through which conflict impacts each individual.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Hereby, the authors consciously assure that for the manuscript “Analysing the correlation between violence in Pakistan and enrolment rates in the short-run and the medium-run” the following is fulfilled: (i) this manuscript is the authors’ own original work, which has not been previously published elsewhere, (ii) the paper is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere, (iii) the paper reflects the authors’ own research and analysis in a truthful and complete manner, (iv) all sources used are properly disclosed (correct citation) and (v) all authors have been personally and actively involved in substantial work leading to the paper, and will take public responsibility for its content.
There are no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Citation
Gillani, A.A. and Bari, K.M. (2024), "No use of schools: the heterogenous effects of conflict in Pakistan on enrolment rates of boys and girls", Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-01-2024-0873
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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