Raoul van Maarseveen defends his thesis "Urbanization and Education"

Raoul's dissertation consists of four papers; three single-authored papers and one co-authored paper. The general theme in his dissertation is the role of spatial differences in economic opportunities. The microdata used to explore this topic spans three continents and several historical episodes.
 
The dissertation primarily explores how rural-urban migration affects later-in-life outcomes in Africa. Raoul identifies these urban exposure effects using children who move between urban and rural regions at different ages. The dissertation shows that childhood exposure to cities significantly increases primary school completion, school participation, and literacy. These educational outcomes also translate to higher earnings and economic opportunities later in life. The effects are visible in a large number of developing countries and are particularly large for girls.
 
Raoul's dissertation marks an important contribution to our understanding of rural-urban migration in a developing context. 
 
Discussant is Professor Daniel Sturm, London School of Economics. The grading committee members are Professor Eva Mörk, Department of Economics, Uppsala University, Professor Gustaf Gredebäck, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, and Associate Professor, Konrad Buchardi, Uppsala University. 
 
Advisors are Associate Professor Niklas Bengtsson, Department of Economics, Uppsala University, and Professor Matz Dahlberg, Department of Economics, Uppsala University.

You can read the thesis here.

Read more about Raoul on his website.