Legal Guarantees of Education and Access Outcomes: A Cross-National Analysis of Free and Compulsory Education Frameworks

Abstract

Legal guarantees of education are widely recognized as instruments for expanding access, but there is still a dearth of empirical evidence on whether or not various types of legal supply are similarly linked to diminished school exclusion. Current literature has given more focus to normative commitments as compared to outcome-based assessment on a comparative basis. This study examines the association between legal guarantees of free and compulsory education and out-of-school rates, with particular attention to whether different types and levels of legal provision are linked to educational access in distinct ways. A quantitative cross-national panel design was employed using country-year observations. The dependent variable was the out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, while independent variables captured the number of years of free and compulsory education at different levels. The analysis combined descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, fixed-effects regression, clustered standard errors, and robustness checks using a log-transformed dependent variable and a reduced model. The findings show that years of free primary and secondary education are consistently and robustly associated with lower out-of-school rates across model specifications. Other legal provisions, including compulsory education and free pre-primary education, do not demonstrate comparable stability, indicating that legal guarantees differ in their practical relevance for improving access. These results suggest that legal design plays a critical role in shaping educational outcomes. Provisions that directly reduce the cost of schooling appear more effective than those relying primarily on compulsion, highlighting the importance of aligning legal frameworks with the structural barriers faced by households.