Effects of free textbooks on academic performance: Evidence from China's compulsory education

Since little is known about the effects of free textbooks on compulsory school students in China, this paper examines the effects of free textbooks on the academic performance of Chinese middle school students. It combines propensity score matching and difference‐in‐difference estimation to control...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inReview of development economics Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 2518 - 2537
Main Author Liu, Xinran
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2023
Subjects
Academic achievement
Compulsory education
Middle schools
Propensity
Students
Textbooks
China
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ISSN1363-6669
1467-9361
DOI10.1111/rode.13032

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Summary:Since little is known about the effects of free textbooks on compulsory school students in China, this paper examines the effects of free textbooks on the academic performance of Chinese middle school students. It combines propensity score matching and difference‐in‐difference estimation to control for both observable and unobservable factors that affect the probability of obtaining free textbooks as well as students' academic performance. Results indicate that free textbooks significantly improve the midterm scores of girls and rural students, and the effects vary across different subjects. Moreover, the impact mechanisms of free textbooks are different for different groups and different subjects.
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ISSN:1363-6669
1467-9361
DOI:10.1111/rode.13032