Essays on Women's Development: Minimum Marriageable Age Policy, Early Marriage, and Female Education in Nigeria

This dissertation comprises essays focused on women’s development issues. Specifically, it discusses minimum marriageable age policy, early marriage, and female education in Nigeria. Essay 1 discusses the factors that affect state adoption of the minimum marriageable age policy in the 2003 Child Rights Act (CRA), a policy aimed at eliminating girls’ exposure to early marriage. Against a background understanding of Nigeria’s federalism, constitutional provisions regarding legal majority, and the protection of child rights and marriage governance, the essay highlights women’s participation in the policy process and their contribution to producing the adoption patterns that exist. Essay 2 examines the relationship between the minimum marriageable age policy and early marriage and female education. Finally, Essay 3 studies the relationship between female principals and school-level outcomes for female students. Applying the theory of representative bureaucracy in the Nigerian context, the essay highlights the role of managerial tenure in moderating the relationship between female public managers and female clients. The dissertation shows that women’s participation in the minimum marriageable age policy process complements religion as explanations for the current policy adoption patterns. It also shows that CRA is associated with a higher likelihood of secondary education, but not with changes in probability of early marriage. Lastly, the dissertation finds that increased tenure among female principals is associated with some improvement in outcomes for female students. The overall conclusion is that advancement in women’s development in Nigeria would benefit from higher participation of women in both public policy and in public management.