RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 School Construction and Intergenerational Human Capital
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0520-10939R3
DO 10.3368/jhr.0520-10939R3
A1 Sunder, Naveen
YR 2026
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2026/06/01/jhr.0520-10939R3.abstract
AB This paper estimates the direct and intergenerational effects of one of the world’s largest school expansion policies. Starting in 1993-94, the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) constructed over 100,000 new schools and served over 50 million children in India. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design I show that the policy increased enrollment, literacy and years of education for both male and female direct beneficiaries. Further, I find that children whose mothers were DPEP beneficiaries had higher scores on vernacular (18 percent), math (13 percent), and English (15 percent) tests, while Father’s DPEP exposure had no effect on children’s learning.