Schooling infrastructure and educational outcomes in Nepal

We estimate the impact of an increase in the number of schools on educational outcomes in Nepal. We combine the between-district differences in number of new schools with variation in exposure to these schools created by the virtue of individuals being of school-age. Our results and back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that on average the increase in the number of schools can explain about a third of the total differences in the reading and writing abilities for the treated and control groups of women. These results underscore the continued importance of increasing access to schooling in developing countries like Nepal