Determinants of academic performance of left-behind children in rural Nigeria: Quantile evidence from Niger State

Recently, scholars have expressed concern about the potential effects on academic performance when migrant parents leave their children behind, but little is known about the determinants of the academic performance of these children. Using survey data from Niger State, Nigeria (N = 1,140), and applying quantile regression, this study shows that the quality of parental involvement that left-behind children (LBC) receive in the absence of parents, their physical and mental health, the type of school they attend and their birth order affect their academic performance. These effects are, however, specific to the children in the lower and upper tails of the performance distribution. Therefore, policies that ensure the proper care of the children and those policies that enhance school quality would promote the academic performance of the children, particularly if targeted at the children who are in the lower and upper quantiles of the performance distribution. Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.