Child marriage remains pervasive in Bangladesh and many low-income settings, undermining girls’ education, reducing their economic participation, and constraining opportunities for their children. Policymakers have invested heavily in empowerment programs and incentives to delay marriage, yet little is known about whether these interventions generate lasting economic gains. This project answers that question through a large-scale randomized trial offering adolescent girls either a six-month empowerment program or a financial incentive to delay marriage across 460 communities. More than a decade later, women exposed to either intervention are substantially more likely to participate in the labor force and work more hours, indicating that early agency-building translates into durable economic returns. Emerging evidence also shows sizable human capital investments: children of women who received both interventions are more likely to be in school. These findings reveal that adolescent empowerment can reshape women’s life trajectories and strengthen human capital in the next generation.
