Universal secondary education, schooling and women ’s empowerment: Evidence from Uganda

We evaluate the long-term effects of Uganda’s 2007 Universal Secondary Education (USE) policy, which expanded secondary education access through tuition-fee elimination and increased school capacity. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we exploit variations in birth cohorts and regional exposure to identify the policy’s causal impacts on women’s educational attainment and empowerment. Our results show significant gains in education and empowerment for women in areas with greater program intensity. We also find improvements in women’s labour market outcomes, marriage and fertility outcomes such as delayed age at first sex, birth, and cohabitation, and increased spouse schooling differences. These findings highlight the potential for governments in sub-Saharan Africa to leverage secondary education investments in generating sustained improvement in women’s empowerment. • We evaluate Uganda’s Universal Secondary Education (USE) policy, which abolished tuition fees. • Identification exploits birth cohort and regional exposure variations to the policy. • The USE led to large improvements in women’s educational attainment and empowerment. • Mechanisms include delayed age at first sex, birth, and cohabitation, and enhanced labour market outcomes for women. • Evidence supports secondary education investments as a pathway to sustained women’s empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa.