Climate Change Information and Parental Aspiration for Children’s Education: Experimental Evidence from Rural Egypt

The intervention consists of an interactive information session providing participants with information on climate change and its impacts on agriculture, as well as practical recommendations for adopting climate-smart agricultural practices. Eligible individuals in treated clusters are invited to attend the information session.

The target population comprises young male smallholder farmers in Upper Egypt (specifically the Assiut and Minya governorates). In selected clusters, the intervention targets maize farmers between 18 and 35 years old who cultivated between 0.25 and 5 feddans in the previous season. Around 50% of the sample is married with children.

This registration builds on the registered randomized controlled trial (RCT) AEARCTR-0016822, “Young Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change in Egypt.”

2026-04-01

2026-04-30

• Beliefs about future returns from agriculture:
◦ In the coming 15 years, how hard do you think it will be to do agriculture in Assiut?
◦ Do you think it will be possible to earn a decent income from agriculture in the coming 15 years if you continue with the same agricultural practices you have been using until now?
◦ In the coming 15 years, do you think it will be possible to earn a decent income from agriculture if you use new agricultural practices that can help you cope with climate change?
• Occupational aspirations for the child most likely to be prepared by the parent to work in agriculture, or the hypothetical oldest son in the case of no children:
◦ Preference for children working in agriculture or outside agriculture:
◦ In the future, do you want your selected child to work: only in agriculture / diversify but focus on agriculture / diversify but focus more on work outside of agriculture / completely outside of agriculture?
◦ Desired future occupation.
• Educational pathway to reach occupational allocation and aspiration:
◦ Desired level of education (formal education or apprenticeship).
◦ Perceived necessity of attaining each level of formal schooling to achieve the desired occupation.
◦ Intended specialization for formal or vocational pathway.
• Educational investments:
◦ How much, on average, are you willing to invest in this child’s education per month starting next academic year? (in Egyptian Pounds (EGP) — includes transport, books, private lessons, etc.)
• Agricultural knowledge transmission:
◦ Are you planning to teach your child new agricultural practices?
• Schooling and labor preferences:
◦ Attitudes toward school attendance: Sometimes children aged around 15 years old do not feel like going to school, and some parents allow them to stay home on such days. How supportive are you of this?
◦ Attitudes toward dropout: In your village, some parents do not mind having their children aged around 15 years old drop out of school because they think it is not very important for their future. How supportive are you of this?
◦ Absence in favor of farm labor: During busy farming periods, some parents rely on their children aged around 15 years old to help on the land, even if it means missing school. How supportive are you of this?
◦ Absence in favor of non-farm labor: If an opportunity arises for a child aged around 15 years old to work in a job outside of agriculture, some parents see no problem with them working alongside their studies, even if this affects their attendance a little. How supportive are you of this?
◦ Dropout in favor of non-farm labor: In your village, some parents may decide that their children aged around 15 years old should stop schooling to learn a job other than agriculture. How supportive are you of this?

• Reallocation of resources in favor of boys’ education on the expenses of girls’ education:
◦ It is fair to spend more on the education of boys than girls, so that boys can find a job outside of agriculture if they need to.
• Gendered reallocation of labor in favor of boys’ diversification outside of agriculture:
◦ Girls can help their father on the farm so that their brothers can work outside of agriculture.

The intervention takes place in April 2026, just before farmers grow maize

Information intervention: Extension agents in each village provide the list of names of all eligible farmers who live in pre-specified clusters within the village. Our team then visits the farmers and confirms eligibility and willingness to participate in a study on agriculture. We use a clustered randomization design.

Farmers are invited to a two hours session and are provided with the information on how the climate changed in the past and how it is likely to change in the future, in addition to introducing some climate smart adaptation strategies. Farmers are also urged to diversify their income by working outside of agriculture if they feel their income is not sufficient. One month after the intervention farmers are visited to collect information on their perceptions of the future of climate change, the occupational risks associated with agriculture, and educational aspirations for their children.

Farmers in the control group do not receive any intervention.

Not available

Done in office by computer using STATA

Clustered at the agglomeration level (villages are divided into groups of houses)

Yes

200 agglomerations

900 farmers

450 farmers in treatment , 450 farmers in control