Students today, teachers tomorrow: Identifying constraints on the provision of education

With an estimated one hundred fifteen million children not attending primary school in the developing world, increasing access to education is critical. This paper highlights a supply-side factor – the availability of low-cost teachers – and the resulting ability of the market to offer affordable education. We first show that private schools are three times more likely to emerge in villages with government girls' secondary schools (GSSs). Identification is obtained by using official school construction guidelines as an instrument for the presence of GSSs. In contrast, private school presence shows little or no relationship with girls' primary or boys' primary and secondary government schools. In support of a supply-channel, we then show that, villages which received a GSS have over twice as many educated women, and private school teachers' wages are 27% lower in these villages. In an environment with low female education and mobility, GSSs substantially increase the local supply of skilled women lowering wages locally and allowing the market to offer affordable education. These findings highlight the prominent role of women as teachers in facilitating educational access and resonate with similar historical evidence from developed economies. The students of today are the teachers of tomorrow. ► We investigate evidence linking teacher supply to better educational outcomes. ► Presence of a girls' secondary school (GSS) increases the supply of skilled women. ► With greater supply but limited labor mobility, these women have lower wages. ► The existence of a GSS increases the probability of private school in the village. ► Public investments in girls' secondary education crowd in private capital.