Education as a dimension of human development: A Provincial-level Education Index for Ecuador

Prominent among these policies are, on the one hand, the waiving of school fees at all edu- cational levels, which was gradually implemented from 2007 onwards. And, on the other hand, the provision of free schoolbooks, which initially covered the first to the tenth year of General Basic Education, and which was later extended to all levels of non-schooled education [110, 111]. Added to it is the program of free schoolbooks in ancestral languages Kukayus Pedagógi- cos, which has been developed mainly in the provinces of the Sierra region (Pichincha, Coto- paxi, Imbabura, Tungurahua, Bolı´var, Chimborazo, Cañar, Azuay, and Loja), where a large part of the country’s indigenous population lives. Also, the Programa de Alimentación Escolar, which begun in 1999, must be highlighted, as it provides breakfast and lunch for children in vulnerable households, offering two meals a day in schools–only one after 2007– for students of Initial Education and General Basic Education in urban and rural areas. All provinces improved their coverage over the period, both in the textbook and school meals programs, and the provinces that initially displayed a lower PEI (Chimborazo and Cotopaxi in the former, and Azuay and Los Rı´os, in the latter, respectively) (S7 Table) showed the greatest increase. Mention should be made of the Hilando el Desarrollo program, through which the uniforms of students in state schools at the levels of Initial Education and General Basic Education are paid. This program promotes school enrolment, since, as uniforms are compulsory in Ecua-

dor, not having one might pose a hurdle to attending school and urge children to drop out. The program, which begun in 2007 and which is still in place today, also promotes associations of small craftsmen and women in micro-textile firms to make uniforms in the local area by granting microcredits, training, and technical assistance. Guayas and Pichincha, two of the provinces with the highest PEI values, evidence the greatest reduction in the percentage of stu- dents benefiting from free uniforms between 2009 and 2012 (-11.1 and -10.8, respectively) (S7 Table). It is worth noting that the results of an assessment of the program’s impact in five prov- inces of the Costa region indicated that the program had no effect on school enrolment, although it did show negative effects vis-à-vis attendance [112]. These results could be due to the sunk costs fallacy and to parental disappointment with schools, which, after promising a uniform, failed to supply one. Other aspects that influenced the results were the poor quality of the uniforms provided by the program, and the stigmatization suffered by the children who wore it [112]. Overall, the results obtained might be shedding light on certain progress in terms of improvements in interprovincial educational equality, although differences can still be observed. Although the aforementioned policies correspond to the central government and are imple- mented at the national level, they could be behind our results–especially those related to cer- tain provinces that have shown a better performance in the PEI between the two periods

studied−. Although all these policies have been an important incentive for the access and con- tinuity of children in the school system throughout the country, the greatest effort has been made in rural areas [113]. As a result, some of the provinces with the highest proportion of rural population have also been some of the ones that have shown the best evolution in their PEI. In addition, it should be noted that most of the provincial governments of Costa and Sierra continued to allocate their own budget to some of these programs −such as free text- books−, which made it possible to reach a greater number of students [114] (S7 Table). Institu- tions play a key role in the way societies distribute the benefits and costs of public policies implemented at different levels of government. Without them, there is little likelihood that the necessary change will take place. The fact that some institutions work better than others at the regional/local level may cause a national program/policy to obtain better results in some prov- inces than in others (inclusive institutions vs. extractive institutions) [115]. Together with these central government policies implemented at a national scale, some sub- national governments also developed various initiatives. Such is the case of Pichincha which, PLOS ONE Education as a dimension of Human development PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270932 July 8, 2022 18 / 27