Out-of-School Education Investments: An Experiment with Study Rooms in Delhi

Secondary school students in low and middle-income countries invest as much time studying the school curriculum independently as their high-income counterparts. However, the physical conditions in which they do so differ vastly. According to PISA 2018, more than 40% of students from low and middle-income countries lack a desk and a quiet place to study at home. Their homes often lack proper ventilation, illumination, and insulation from noise, and may consist of a single room used to sleep, cook and eat. Despite the precarious conditions, students in these settings mostly study at home. This experiment will evaluate whether subsidizing access to study rooms can help disadvantaged students improve their performance in the high-stakes All India Senior School Certificate Examination. In addition, the project will investigate the mechanisms through which the intervention may or may not be effective and the reasons for the low demand for this service.