This paper investigates the impact of idiosyncratic and covariate economic shocks, and the resulting work burden on children, on the likelihood of children completing primary education or dropping out of primary school. In this endeavour, censored Cox proportional hazards model was estimated using data from the Young Lives study of childhood poverty. The estimated results indicate that both idiosyncratic shocks and covariate shocks have a statistically significant effect on the risk of children dropping out of primary school.

Both academic and policy documents indicate that poor school management and decision-making at local level are major challenges in creating equitable access to good-quality education in Ethiopia. In principle, educational provision can be improved through better management practices, transparency in the use of resources and accountability to all stakeholders (community, parents, students, teachers, etc.).

Education, particularly basic education, is key in terms of laying a solid foundation for healthy human development and is also strongly related to various social and economic benefits. Impressive and rapid primary enrolment increases have been achieved in Ethiopia, and policymakers are focused on quality improvements through the Education Sector Development Plan and the General Education Quality Improvement Programme. To help inform this policy environment, this brief presents findings from a school-based survey carried out as part of the Young Lives longitudinal study.

Studying chronic poverty using retrospective qualitative data (life histories) in conjunction with longitudinal panel data is now widely recognised to provide deeper and more reliable insights (Davis and Baulch, 2009). This paper uses three rounds of panel data and life histories collected by Young Lives, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty, to identify factors that contribute to households becoming or remaining poor in rural Ethiopia, with related effects on the children within those households.