Gender based intra-household inequality of opportunity in academic skills among Indian children

Using households with a pair of male-female siblings (aged 8-11 years) from a nationally representative survey, the paper estimates gender based intra-household inequality of opportunity in academic skills by comparing test scores of the siblings in reading and mathematics skills within each household. The study finds substantial level of gender based intra-household inequality in both the skills. The paper also estimates household fixed-effects models for reading and mathematics skills, and finds significant difference between male and female children with female children at a disadvantaged position. Further support for gender differential (bias against female children) is provided by the analysis of the expenses incurred by households on the education of their children, which shows that the educational expenditure on female children is substantially lower than that on male children.