Volume 38, Number 3 (Summer) 2003
Zimmerman, Frederick J. 2003. "Cinderella Goes to School: The Effects of Child Fostering on School Enrollment in South Africa." Journal of Human Resources 38(3):557-590.
Fostering is a common institution throughout developing
countries, where up to 25 percent of children are fostered. An analysis of 8,627
Black South African children suggests that foster children are not less likely
than others to attend school, and they tend to move from homes that have
difficulty enrolling them in school to homes that are more apt to do so. The net
impact of fostering on these children is to reduce the risk of not attending
school by up to 22 percent. Fostering therefore provides an important means of
improving human-capital investment. Evidence that households foster-in children
primarily for their domestic labor is limited.
Frederick J. Zimmerman is an assistant professor in the Department
of Health Services and Child Health Institute; University of Washington; 6200 NE
74th St Suite, Seattle, WA 98115-8160; Telephone (206) 616-9392; Fax (206)
616-4623; fzimmer@u.washington.edu
. Helpful suggestions of two anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged. Any
remaining errors are those of the author alone. The data used in this article
can be obtained from the author beginning February, 2004 through January 2007.
The raw data are in the public domain, and are available at
http://www.worldbank.org/html/prdph/lsms
© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X