Educational attainment and earnings inequality in Cameroon: A quantile regression analysis of heterogeneous returns

This paper analyzes education's heterogeneous returns across Cameroon's earnings distribution using quantile regression (2007-2014 household surveys). Key findings reveal: (1) Urban-rural divergence with tertiary education yielding 74% higher returns for rural women at the 90th decile (? = 2.26) versus urban counterparts; (2) Primary education's equalizing effects in urban areas (? = 0.51 for women) but disequalizing impacts in rural upper deciles (? = -1.03 for men); (3) Secondary education's collapsing returns below the 40th rural decile. The results demand spatial-precision policymaking under Vision 2035: geographic mobility corridors to connect high-return rural earners with urban opportunities; tertiary access pacts targeting rural women's demonstrated 90th-decile potential; and gender-responsive vocational tracks to revive secondary education's middle-decile value. Contrary to linear human capital models, we demonstrate how education's inequality impacts are fundamentally reconfigured through three intersecting channels: decile-specific returns, spatial premiums, and gender-mediated valuation. These findings provide an actionable roadmap for converting education from an inequality accelerator to an equitable development catalyst in segmented African labor markets.