School Grade, Health, and Credit Constraint: The Determinants of Post-Compulsory Schooling in the Prewar Japan

Although malnutrition and credit constraints have been argued as impediments to increas-ing the secondary school attendance in developing countries, virtually no historical studies have empirically investigated how these constraints used to inßuence the secondary school enrollment in todays developed countries with nearly universal enrollment. This study addresses this issue using a unique area-level data set that contains rich information on the distribution of family assets, health status, and school grades for children who enrolled in various types of schools at post-compulsory education in the pre-war period in Japan. It is found that good health, good school grade, and high level of family assets all contribute to increasing the probability of middle school enrollment. It is also found that poor health status negatively related to middle school enrollment more among girls than boys. Further, good health combined with good school grade could overcome the disadvantage of children from poor households in increasing the probability of middle school attendance