The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey

This paper estimates the impact of the extension of compulsory schooling in Turkey from 5 to 8 years on the marriage and fertility behavior of teenage women in Turkey using the 2008 Turkish Demographic and Health Survey. We find that the new education policy reduces the probability of marriage and giving birth for teenage women substantially: the probability of marriage by age 16 is reduced by 44 percent and the probability of giving birth by age 17 falls by 36 percent. The effects of the education policy on the time until marriage and first-birth persist beyond the completion of compulsory schooling. In addition, we find that the delay in the time until first-birth is driven by the delay in the time until marriage. After a woman is married, the rise in compulsory schooling years does not have an effect on the duration until her first-birth. Finally, we find that the education policy was more effective in reducing early marriage than a change in the Civil Code aimed for this purpose.compulsory schooling, education, fertility, age at marriage

The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey

This paper estimates the impact of the extension of compulsory schooling from 5 to 8 years in Turkey—which increased women’s schooling by more than a year—on marriage and birth outcomes of teenage women, using regression discontinuity design, where we compare month-year of birth cohorts of all women. We find very strong incarceration effects of the new policy; the increased compulsory schooling years reduce the probability of teenage marriage by age 16 and first-births by age 17 substantially. However, these effects are short-lived; they dissapear after age 17 for marriage and after age 18 for first-births because the policy increases the marriage hazard rate at age 17, shortly after these women leave school, and there is no policy effect on the time to first-birth after marriage. These findings indicate either small or no human capital effects of the policy on marriage and first-birth decisions

The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey

This paper estimates the impact of the extension of compulsory schooling in Turkey from 5 to 8 years—which increased the 8th grade completion rate for women by 30 percentage points—on marriage and birth outcomes of teenage women in Turkey. We find that increased compulsory schooling years reduce the probability of teenage marriage and births for women substantially, and these effects persist well beyond the new compulsory schooling years: the probability of marriage by age 18 falls by more than 4 percentage points and the probability of giving birth by age 19 falls by more than 4.5 percentage points for the earliest cohorts affected by the policy. In addition, the new policy increases the time to first-birth after marriage. We find conclusive evidence that longer compulsory schooling years have human capital effects on the time to first-birth, as well as incarcertation effects on teenage marriage; there is also suggestive evidence for human capital effects on teenage marriage

The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey

This paper estimates the impact of the extension of compulsory schooling in Turkey from 5 to 8 years—which increased the 8th grade completion rate for women by 30 percentage points—on marriage and birth outcomes of teenage women in Turkey. We find that increased compulsory schooling years reduce the probability of teenage marriage and births for women substantially, and these effects persist well beyond the new compulsory schooling years: the probability of marriage by age 18 falls by more than 4 percentage points and the probability of giving birth by age 19 falls by more than 4.5 percentage points for the earliest cohorts affected by the policy. In addition, the new policy increases the time to first-birth after marriage. We find conclusive evidence that longer compulsory schooling years have human capital effects on the time to first-birth, as well as incarcertation effects on teenage marriage; there is also suggestive evidence for human capital effects on teenage marriage

Does longer compulsory education equalize educational attainment by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background?

This study examines the effects of the extension of compulsory schooling from 5 to 8 years in Turkey—which substantially increased the grade completion rates not only during the new compulsory years but also during the high school years—on the equality of educational outcomes among various subpopulations. While longer compulsory schooling decreases the educational gap for most subgroups—in particular, the gender gap in rural areas, the ethnic gap among men in both urban and rural areas, and the ethnic gap among women in urban areas; at the same time, it increases the gender gap in urban areas as well as the ethnic gap among women in rural areas. For instance, the gap in the 8th grade completion rate between ethnic Turkish and Kurdish women in rural areas increases from 22.5 to 44.6 percentage points for the 1989 birth-cohort. These findings suggest that the differences among subpopulations in the change in schooling costs (both monetary and psychic) during the new compulsory schooling years, in the costs of non-compliance with the policy, in labor force participation, and in the drop-out behavior in earlier grades are the key underlying factors

Benchmarking International Food Safety Performance in the Fresh Produce Sector

The objective of this paper is to assess food systems performance in Mediterranean countries to deliver safe food (fresh produce), and to demonstrate the capacity to the satisfaction of private customers and public regulators. To that end, an international benchmarking exercise was developed to assess the quality performance gap in food standards across countries and food systems. The study was carried out in three Mediterranean countries: Spain, Morocco and Turkey and involved an audit of the citrus and tomatoes supply chains, and a comparison with existing "best practice" in infrastructure and management practices at both firm and industry level. The aim was to identify the gaps between fresh produce exporters and a best practice company. To that end, the Spanish fresh produce supply chain was used as the benchmark since in many areas it is more advanced than elsewhere.benchmarking, performance, quality and safety, fresh produce, Mediterranean countries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Does longer compulsory education equalize educational attainment by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background?

This study examines the effects of the extension of compulsory schooling from 5 to 8 years in Turkey—which substantially increased the grade completion rates not only during the new compulsory years but also during the high school years—on the equality of educational outcomes among various subpopulations. While longer compulsory schooling decreases the educational gap for most subgroups—in particular, the gender gap in rural areas, the ethnic gap among men in both urban and rural areas, and the ethnic gap among women in urban areas; at the same time, it increases the gender gap in urban areas as well as the ethnic gap among women in rural areas. For instance, the gap in the 8th grade completion rate between ethnic Turkish and Kurdish women in rural areas increases from 22.5 to 44.6 percentage points for the 1989 birth-cohort. These findings suggest that the differences among subpopulations in the change in schooling costs (both monetary and psychic) during the new compulsory schooling years, in the costs of non-compliance with the policy, in labor force participation, and in the drop-out behavior in earlier grades are the key underlying factors