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Using a basic mathematics competence test based on the primary school curricular standard, we examine the extent to which years spent in school actually increases numeracy achievement in rural Bangladesh. Our sample includes 10-18-year-old children currently enrolled in school as well as those out of school. About half of the children failed to pass the written competence test, a finding that also holds for those having completed primary school. Even after holding constant a wide range of factors such as household income, parental characteristics, current enrollment status, child ability, and aggregate institutional indicators of school quality, there remains a statistically significant correlation between schooling attained and basic mathematics competence above and beyond primary school completion--but the estimated schooling-learning profile is relatively flat. The findings have wide implications for reformulating policies that tend to focus on quantitative expansion of education in developing countries, without concurrent improvements in learning.

Bangladesh has experienced the largest mass poisoning of a population in history owing to contamination of groundwater with naturally occurring inorganic arsenic. Prolonged drinking of such water risks development of diseases and therefore has implications for children's cognitive and psychological development. This study examines the effect of arsenic contamination of tubewells, the primary source of drinking water at home, on the learning outcome of school-going children in rural Bangladesh using recent nationally representative data on secondary school children. We unambiguously find a negative and statistically significant correlation between mathematics scores and arsenic-contaminated drinking tubewells at home, net of the child's socio-economic status, parental background and school specific unobserved correlates of learning. Similar correlations are found for an alternative measure of student achievement and subjective well-being (i.e. self-reported measure of life satisfaction), of the student. We conclude by discussing the policy implication of our findings in the context of the current debate over the adverse effect of arsenic poisoning on children. (Contains 9 tables and 2 figures.)

We elicit adolescent girls' attitudes towards intimate partner violence and child marriage using purposefully collected data from rural Bangladesh. Alongside direct survey questions, we conduct list experiments to elicit true preferences for intimate partner violence and marriage before age 18. Responses to direct survey questions suggest that very few adolescent girls in the study accept the practises of intimate partner violence and child marriage (5% and 2%). However, our list experiments reveal significantly higher support for both intimate partner violence and child marriage (at 30% and 24%). We further investigate how numerous variables relate to preferences for egalitarian gender norms in rural Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, we critically reflect on the ongoing controversy over Islamization of textbooks by a secular government in Bangladesh. Based on a review of the emerging evidence on gender stereotypes in textbook contents, we argue that gender bias was widespread in government-recognized textbooks long before radical Islamic groups publicly demanded changes to the secular school curriculum. All Bangladeshi school textbooks continue to suffer from a pro-male bias regardless of whether they are based on a secular or religious curriculum. Nonetheless, Bangladesh’s experience suggests that politicization of the debate on what children should learn in school can make future reforms much harder to achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using government secondary school English language textbooks from Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, we conducted a quantitative content analysis in order to identify gender stereotypes in school education. In total, 21 categories of exclusion and quality of representation were used to study gender stereotypes. Our analysis confirms a pro-male bias in textbooks: the aggregate female share is 40.4% in textual and pictorial indicators combined. Female occupations are mostly traditional and less prestigious while the characters are predominantly introverted and passive in terms of personality traits. Women are also shown to be mostly involved in domestic and in-door activities while men have a higher presence in professional roles. Systematic underrepresentation of females is evident regardless of whether we look at the text or pictures. A cross-country analysis shows that the female share in picture content is only 35.2% in Malaysia and Bangladesh. Overall, the proportion of female to male characters (text and pictures combined) is balanced in Malaysia and Indonesia (44.4% and 44.1% respectively) while this share is only 24.4% and 37.3% in Pakistani and Bangladeshi textbooks respectively. The finding of underrepresentation of women in Pakistani textbooks, in terms of quality and quantity, is robust to the selection of province-, grade- and subject-specific textbooks, as well as the range and type of categories used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents new evidence on individual and community-specific determinants of social trust using data from 96 villages in Bangladesh. We find perceived institutional trust to be positively correlated with stated inter-personal trust. At the same time, there is significant social distance among various faith groups in our data: both Hindus and Muslims trust their coreligionists more than they trust those from other religions. Moreover, Hindus trust Christians, Buddhists and NGO workers more than Muslims, and are not distrustful of the wider society. Trust towards non- Muslims is negatively correlated with Islamic school attendance among Muslim respondents, while religiosity tends not to play any role. Compared to religion, the effects of institutional trust and local economic development are modest. These findings are robust to control for a range of individual- and community-level correlates, and enumerator fixed effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using unique survey data on rural secondary school children, this paper evaluates the relative quality of Islamic secondary schools (i.e., madrasahs) in Bangladesh. Students attending registered madrasahs fare worse in maths and English than students attending non-madrasah schools. However, failure to account for non-random sorting overestimates the negative influence of madrasahs on student's achievement. Evidence on the magnitude of this bias is presented. Once selection effect is taken into account, the madrasah's disadvantage in English is small while that in maths becomes insignificant. Given the overall low level of achievement, this suggests that madrasah students perform just as poorly as those from non-madrasah schools in rural Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides the first comparative assessment of the market share and socio-demographic correlates of children's enrolment in madrasahs in rural Bangladesh using data from a purposefully designed household and community surveys and census conducted in 12 districts. We find that unrecognized madrasahs do have a large presence in rural areas in terms of total numbers but their enrolment share is small. Recognized madrasahs on the other hand has a much larger share in overall student enrolment, particularly in secondary education. Sample households primarily report religious concerns as the motivation for sending children to madrasahs. Yet, only in 7% of households do all school-aged children attend madrasahs implying that religious preference matters but is not the single most important motivation for madrasah education. Therefore we formally investigate the individual, household and community related correlates of madrasah enrolment among 6-18 years old children using Probit regression model. We find a relatively weak effect of gender implying that rural madrasahs attract both boys and girls. Older children are more likely to be enrolled in madrasahs. A statistically significant and negative relationship is found between madrasah enrolment and household income as well as household's access to electricity. Among community-specific factors, children living in locations with fewer non-madrasah schools are more likely to attend madrasahs. Presence of NGOs and availability of satellite dish connection also significantly reduce enrolment in madrasahs. We additionally use nationally representative household survey data to validate some of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a four-round panel data set from the first phase of the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction – Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR – TUP) programme of BRAC, we investigate whether a one-off transfer of livestock assets improves well-being of the very poor women in Bangladesh. Programme impact is assessed on a wide range of monetary and nonmonetary measures of well-being using difference-in-difference (DD) as well as matching methods. We find significant positive long-term impact on food security, household savings, assets and participation in microfinance. Participant women are less likely to be in distress occupation and more into self-employment. However, the long-term effect is much smaller for most outcomes when compared to short- and medium-run impacts. We conclude by discussing the significance of the institutional and regional context for the observed time path of estimated programme effect. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT This paper looks at the determinants of school selection in rural Bangladesh, focusing on the choice between registered Islamic and non-religious schools. Using a unique dataset on secondary school-age children from rural Bangladesh, we find that madrasah enrolment falls as household income increases. At the same time, more religious households, and those that live further away from a non-religious school are more likely to send their children to madrasahs. However, in contrast to the theory, we find that Islamic school demand does not respond to the average quality of schools in the locality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Using aggregate indices of education, health, demographic, and gender equality outcomes, we empirically investigate the hypothesis that Bangladesh achieved a higher level of social development compared with countries of similar level of per capita income. Stylized facts and cross-country regression results support this hypothesis for a broad range of dimensions. Further tests show that such achievements do not simply reflect income-mediated channels and social expenditure programs. We conclude by speculating on the role of Bangladesh’s development to sustain the process of growth and on the role of governance and institutional quality for the nexus between growth and development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Using a survey of women born between 1975 and 1994, we assess how son preference is evolving in Bangladesh. • We find that, among women of childbearing age, son preference is giving way to a desire for gender balance. • We explore factors behind the trend: increased female education and employment, and decline in joint family living. • In contrast to stated fertility preferences, actual fertility decisions are still shaped by son preference. Historically, son preference has been widely prevalent in South Asia, manifested in the form of skewed sex ratios, gender differentials in child mortality, and worse educational investments in daughters versus sons. In the present study, we show, using data from a purposefully designed nationally representative survey for Bangladesh, that among women of childbearing age, son bias in stated fertility preferences has weakened and there is an emerging preference for gender balance. We examine a number of different hypotheses for the decline in son preference, including the increasing availability of female employment in the manufacturing sector, increased female education, and the decline of joint family living. Using survival analysis, we show that in contrast to stated fertility preferences, actual fertility decisions are still shaped by son preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]