Working Papers in Economics,
University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines whether and how Islamist violence affects educational content in secondary schools in Burkina Faso. We combine geocoded conflict-event data with nationwide school census data containing detailed information on teachers’ subject-specific teaching hours and mobility across schools. Using a staggered difference-in-differences design, we estimate the dynamic effects of violence on school availability and instructional time. We find no change in total hours of core subjects following local conflict, but evidence of increased Arabic instruction. We also document effects on teacher retention. Following local episodes of Islamist violence, teachers become more likely to move to schools in other municipalities, with the strongest mobility responses observed among those teaching French and mathematics. These findings suggest that violent extremism can reshape educational content even without formal curriculum reform, through changes in school availability, the allocation of instructional time, and the composition of the teaching workforce.

Keywords: Conflict; violence; education; schooling; Sub-Saharan Africa; Sahel; Burkina Faso

JEL-codes: D74; I20; I25; O12; O55

Language: English

36 pages, March 2026

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