Spatial disparity and inequality of education domain in Algeria: a spatial econometric approach

Purpose - Despite significant progress in schooling, social and spatial inequalities in access to education remain important in Algeria. In the present article, taking into account the geographic dimension makes it possible to identify the links existing between spatial location and disparities in the field of education in Algeria. Also, three types of education indicators (quantity, quality and inequality) are used in the study. The study’s sample includes 48 Algerian provinces, studied between 2008 and 2018. Design/methodology/approach - In this study, the authors used data from the 2008 and 2018 General Census of Population and Housing (GCPH) for 48 provinces. Indeed, the two censuses of 2008 and 2018 (sources of data for this study) were based on questionnaires intended for different categories of the population (households, non-household populations, transit population, etc.). Therefore, the no response rate is assumed to be close to 0. Using spatial econometric techniques. Findings - Results indicate that the indicator used is strong spatial disparity in education in Algeria. The development of a spatial synthetic index (SI) makes it possible to measure more precisely the extent and nature of spatial disparities in the field of education in Algeria. The results also confirm the hypothesis ofβ-convergence of the performance of the Algerian education system. Consequently, the need for policies to reduce the unfair inequalities between different areas is apparent. Originality/value - Works that analyze education indicators in a classical perspective (educational performances between different sexes and between rural and urban areas) are abundant (Amaghouss and Ibourk, 2013a). However, very few studies proceed to the analysis of educational variables in a spatial perspective (Catin and Hazem, 2012). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no work has tried to analyze spatial disparities in the field of education in Algeria.