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International Evidence on the Gender Gap in Education over the Past Six Decades: A Puzzle and an Answer to It

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  • Francisco Parro

Abstract

This paper presents novel worldwide evidence on the evolution of the gender gap in education over the past six decades. In every region of the world, I find that the gender gap increases from 1950 to 1975 and then decreases from 1975 to 2005. This path creates a puzzle since the existing explanations for the post-1975 boom in the higher education of women are not fully consistent with this evidence. To solve this puzzle, I highlight the missing element in the literature: the different nature of the forces behind the increases in the demand for education in the two periods.

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  • Francisco Parro, 2012. "International Evidence on the Gender Gap in Education over the Past Six Decades: A Puzzle and an Answer to It," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(2), pages 150-185.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/666849
    DOI: 10.1086/666849
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    Cited by:

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    2. Riphahn & Caroline Schwientek, 2015. "What drives the reversal of the gender education gap? Evidence from Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(53), pages 5748-5775, November.
    3. Elena Kotyrlo & Elena Varshavskaya, 2022. "Impact of the compulsory military service reform of 2007–2008 on the demand for higher education," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 715-735, October.
    4. Jeanne Lafortune & Murat Iyigun, 2016. "Why Wait? A Century of Education, Marriage Timing and Gender Roles," Documentos de Trabajo 468, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    5. Francisco Parro G. & Loreto Reyes R., 2019. "Economic growth and the Chilean labor market," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 22(2), pages 070-095, August.
    6. Amory Gethin & Clara Martínez-Toledano & Thomas Piketty, 2022. "Brahmin Left Versus Merchant Right: Changing Political Cleavages in 21 Western Democracies, 1948–2020," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(1), pages 1-48.
    7. David Cuberes & Marc Teignier, 2016. "Aggregate Effects of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(1), pages 1-32.
    8. Pezzuti, Lina & Tommasi, Marco & Saggino, Aristide & Dawe, James & Lauriola, Marco, 2020. "Gender differences and measurement bias in the assessment of adult intelligence: Evidence from the Italian WAIS-IV and WAIS-R standardizations," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Parro Francisco, 2012. "A Supply-Demand Framework for Understanding the U.S. Gender Gap in Education," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, June.
    10. Lisa Beck-Werz & Bernd Frick & Thomas Fritz & Fabian Lensing, 2022. "Understanding the impact of gender and migration on high-ability students’ behavior: Exploring behavioral differences in business, law, and engineering students throughout their academic careers," Working Papers Dissertations 83, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    11. Parro, Francisco & Reyes, Loreto, 2013. "The Chilean Labor Market: Job Creation, Quality, Inclusiveness, and Future Challenges," MPRA Paper 50755, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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