Education, Child Marriage, and Work Outcomes Among Young People in Rural Malawi

Abstract

School attainment has increased and gender gaps narrowed in many settings without commensurate declines in child marriage and with persistent gender gaps in work. This paper investigates whether child marriage changes young people's ability to translate education into paid work in rural Malawi. Methods: Using data from a longitudinal study of adolescents in rural Malawi followed through young adulthood, individual-level fixed-effects regressions that account for time-invariant factors were used to investigate differences in child marriage status on the extent to which grade attainment, reading, and numeracy skills lead to higher participation in paid work and reduce participation in unpaid work. Gender differences in these relationships were explored. Results: Prevalence of child marriage is high for young women (53% vs. 6% for men), and participation in paid work low (7% vs. 42% for men). Attainment of six grades among young married women and nine grades among young married men was associated with paid work irrespective of child marriage. Reading with comprehension in two languages was associated with paid work for young men married as adults (coefficient ¼ .27, p .01). Numeracy was associated with paid work among unmarried young women (coefficient ¼ .04, p .01). Negative associations between grade attainment and unpaid work were found for young women married at ages 16e17 and unmarried, while positive associations were found for young unmarried men. Conclusions: The relationship between education and work among young people in Malawi is compromised by related challenges of poor learning and continued high levels of child and young adult marriage.

Impact of Tuition‐Free Education Policy on Child Marriage and Early Childbearing: Does Secondary Matter More?

“…Therefore, even though it is important to study other costs, estimating the effects of tuition-fee elimination is important on its own. Additionally, beyond the cost implications, the impact of education policies might be limited in settings where education does not translate to better economic opportunities or where gender norms restrict women's employment (Psaki et al 2021;Soler-Hampejsek et al 2021). Further research is needed to understand complementary approaches to education in such contexts.…”

“…2021; Soler‐Hampejsek et al. 2021). Further research is needed to understand complementary approaches to education in such contexts.…”

Disability policy and practice in Malawian employment and education

“…Participants were disproportionately male, reflecting men’s greater involvement in paid employment compared to women (Soler‐Hamperjsek et al., 2021). This requires further exploration to identify gendered elements of paid work and/or disability in Malawi.…”