Empowering Adolescent Girls: RCT Evidence from Uganda
Featuring Markus Goldstein
Lead Economist
Senior Economist, Africa Region
World Bank
Nearly 60% of Uganda’s population is under 20 years old. This generation faces health and economic challenges associated with HIV, early pregnancy and unemployment. In this MADS, Markus Goldstein presents the results of a combined program of (i) vocational training and (ii) information on health and risky behaviors for adolescent girls in Uganda that achieved a 32% increase in girls’ employment and a 26% decrease in child bearing after two years. These startling findings suggest combined interventions might be more effective among adolescent girls than single-pronged interventions aiming to improve labor market outcomes solely through vocational training, or to change risky behaviors solely through education programs.
**The Massachusetts Ave. Development Seminar (MADS) is a ten year-old research seminar series that brings some of the worlds leading development scholars to discuss their new research and ideas. The presentations meet an academic standard of quality and are at times technical, but retain a focus on a mixed audience of researchers and policymakers.*