Child Marriage and Girls’ Secondary Education: Evidence from Fixed-Effects Panel Data
<span><span>This study examines the relationship between child marriage and female secondary education across countries from 2000 to 2023. Using publicly available data from UNICEF, UNESCO, and the Child Marriage Data Portal, I analyzed country-level indicators including child marriage prevalence (% of women aged 20–24 married before 18), female secondary school completion, GDP per capita, and urbanization. Preliminary analyses show that higher rates of child marriage are associated with lower female secondary enrollment and completion, a relationship that persists even after controlling for economic and urbanization factors. Comparisons between early (2000) and late (2022) years suggest that the negative association remains relatively stable over time, with slight variations across regions. Regression results indicate that a one-percentage-point increase in child marriage corresponds to approximately a -1.17 percentage point change in female secondary completion, holding GDP and urbanization constant. These findings underscore the importance of addressing child marriage as a barrier to female education and highlight policy implications for governments and NGOs working to improve educational access for girls. The study contributes to the broader understanding of how social and economic factors interact to influence educational outcomes for young women globally.</span></span>
Riddhi Ganesh