The impact of preprimary construction on primary school progress in rural Guatemala

Abstract

This paper estimates the impacts of opening a preprimary in rural communities on primary school progression in Guatemala. Using administrative school-level data from 1992 to 2006 and a difference-in-difference approach, this paper exploits a large-scale construction program that increased the number of preprimaries in Guatemala from 4,200 to 7,000 between 1998 and 2005. Results indicate that opening a preprimary increases first grade promotion rate by 2.4 percentage points (4.5 percent of the baseline level) in the first grade though no statistically significant impacts are found for second and third grade. The effects are more pronounced for females. Impacts are modest compared to the previous evidence from more developed countries.