Modernization, Religious Schooling, and Economic Attitudes: Evidence from Bangladesh

Mohammad N. Asadullah, University of Oxford
Nazmul Chaudhury, World Bank Group
Amit Dar, World Bank Group

This paper examines perceptions and attitudes of graduates of modernized madrasas on issues of economic and demographic importance in Bangladesh. We report preliminary findings from a recent survey on teachers and female graduates of rural schools and modernized madrasas. We investigate how attitudes toward desired fertility, working mothers, higher education for girls, and various political regimes vary by school type and teacher attributes. We find some evidence of attitudinal gaps by school type. Religious education is associated with attitudes that are conducive to democracy; madrasa graduates oppose a military regime and favors Islamic rule. On the other hand, when compared to their secular school peers, they have perverse attitudes on matters such as working mothers, desired fertility and higher education for girls. Exposure to female and younger teachers leads to more favorable attitudes among graduates. We conclude by discussing the policy implications of these findings.