Evaluation of Public Policies to Support Education: the Case of Morocco

Elizaveta RUSAKOVA

Master's thesis

Abstract:

This thesis is aimed at assessing the impact of public policies to support education in Morocco. Morocco is an interesting case study as educational investments are high but inequalities between urban and rural areas persist, repetition rate remains high while the transition to secondary education low. In this study, we assess how two programs (program of school supplies provision "One million schoolbags" and subsidized food provision "Canteens program") affect these outcomes for the main target group of the programs - rural area students of primary and lower secondary levels of education. To assess the impact of programs, this study makes use of Quasi-experimental research design and Propensity score matching (PSM) to ensure that the found treatment effect is causality and not simply correlation. Certainty in the causality of the observed effect is maximized only if a counterfactual outcome is approximated well enough by the selected control group, which PSM is aimed at. Treatment effects are found by using logit models and calculating average marginal effects. We have rejected the null hypothesis of no impact for the effect of One million schoolbags program and both programs on repetition: participation has considerably increased the probability to repeat the grade for program beneficiaries. The ability to benefit from free school supplies and subsidized meals (even in case of repetition) gives beneficiaries reassurance which might decrease fear of repetition and desire to exert maximum efforts for academic success. Effect of programs on transition to college was positive (participation increased the probability to transit), but estimations were statistically non-significant most likely due to the small sample size.

Abstract:

This thesis is aimed at assessing the impact of public policies to support education in Morocco. Morocco is an interesting case study as educational investments are high but inequalities between urban and rural areas persist, repetition rate remains high while the transition to secondary education low. In this study, we assess how two programs (program of school supplies provision "One million schoolbags" and subsidized food provision "Canteens program") affect these outcomes for the main target group of the programs - rural area students of primary and lower secondary levels of education. To assess the impact of programs, this study makes use of Quasi-experimental research design and Propensity score matching (PSM) to ensure that the found treatment effect is causality and not simply correlation. Certainty in the causality of the observed effect is maximized only if a counterfactual outcome is approximated well enough by the selected control group, which PSM is aimed at. Treatment effects are found by using logit models and calculating average marginal effects. We have rejected the null hypothesis of no impact for the effect of One million schoolbags program and both programs on repetition: participation has considerably increased the probability to repeat the grade for program beneficiaries. The ability to benefit from free school supplies and subsidized meals (even in case of repetition) gives beneficiaries reassurance which might decrease fear of repetition and desire to exert maximum efforts for academic success. Effect of programs on transition to college was positive (participation increased the probability to transit), but estimations were statistically non-significant most likely due to the small sample size.

Keywords

Treatment effect estimation, quasi-experimental design, propensity score matching, education policies in Morocco, repetition rate, transition to secondary education

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 31. 5. 2021

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Mgr. Jaromír Harmáček, Ph.D., Fouzi Mourji

Palacký University Olomouc

Faculty of Science

Master programme / field:
Geography / International Development Studies