Impact of public policy initiatives on education
Student name: Ms Sushumna Agarwal
Guide: Dr Nidhi Pande
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: TERI University
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Namrata Gulati
Abstract: Various channels of poverty trap have been analyzed in the literature. Lack of education is
found to be one of the major reasons for the persistence of poverty. Parents of low income
households are unable to invest in education of the child due to the high direct and indirect
(opportunity) costs associated with it. Absence of education reduces the income earning
potential of the child leading to continuation of the poverty cycle. Several initiatives have
been undertaken by the government of India with an aim to universalize elementary
education. This paper investigates whether access to school and midday meals increases the
probability of being literate among children aged 6 – 11 years. The data employed are the 64th
round “Participation and Expenditure in Education†survey of the National Sample Survey
(2007 – 2008). The analysis is based on the logit model estimation. The result shows that
while parent‟s education, income and location of the household are important factors, better
access to schools and provision of midday meals also have a significant impact on the
probability of being literate.
