Child Education and Work: Evidence from Mexico's Full-Time School Program

This paper examines the effect of a program that extended the length of a school day to improve schooling quality in Mexico, on school enrollment, time spent on schooling activities, and child labor of children aged 7 to 14. We take advantage of the staggered implementation of the FTS program across municipalities. Results show that the program has no effect on being enrolled in school, but affects weekly hours allocated to schooling activities. Moreover, exposure to the program reduces the prevalence of child labor. For boys, we see a decrease in engaging in market work, for girls in domestic work.