Malaria and Human Capital Accumulation

Abstract This paper investigates how malaria affects education in the tropics. To do so, we combine unique administrative data on the test scores of over a million primary school students in a high-stakes national exam with georeferenced data on malaria prevalence in Rwanda. The identification strategy exploits spatial and temporal variations in malaria suitability induced by weather conditions. Findings from the paper show that exposure to malaria is associated with lower student performance. Female students are disproportionately affected, thus widening the gender gap in education. Abatement strategies, such as the uptake of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) help to moderate the effects of malaria on students’ performance.