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A reversal of educational fortune? Educational gender gaps in Bangladesh

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  • M. Najeeb Shafiq

    (Indiana University, Bloomington, USA)

Abstract

Historically, educational gender gaps in Bangladesh persisted as households invested more in the education of boys than girls. Recent anecdotal and descriptive reports, however, claim that Bangladesh has achieved gender parity in education. Using advanced empirical methods and nationally representative data, this study finds that urban and rural boys (relative to urban and rural girls) have a 7.4-27.4% lower likelihood of being enrolled in school, 0.4-1.5 fewer years of educational attainment and 9.7-30.8% lower likelihood of being literate. These findings draw attention to the causes of the reversal in the educational gender gap in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • M. Najeeb Shafiq, 2009. "A reversal of educational fortune? Educational gender gaps in Bangladesh," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(1), pages 137-155.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:21:y:2009:i:1:p:137-155
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.1479
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kenayathulla, Husaina Banu, 2016. "Gender differences in intra-household educational expenditures in Malaysia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 59-73.
    2. Blunch, Niels-Hugo & Das, Maitreyi Bordia, 2007. "Changing norms about gender inequality in education : evidence from Bangladesh," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4404, The World Bank.
    3. Acar, Elif Öznur & Günalp, Burak & Cilasun, Seyit Mümin, 2016. "An empirical analysis of household education expenditures in Turkey," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 23-35.
    4. Thereza Balliester Reis, 2022. "Socio‐economic determinants of financial inclusion: An evaluation with a microdata multidimensional index," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 587-611, April.
    5. Xu, Sijia & Shonchoy, Abu S. & Fujii, Tomoki, 2022. "Assessing gender parity in intrahousehold allocation of educational resources: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    6. Siahaan, Freddy & Lee, Daniel Y. & Kalist, David E., 2014. "Educational attainment of children of immigrants: Evidence from the national longitudinal survey of youth," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-8.
    7. Niels-Hugo Blunch & Maitreyi Bordia Das, 2015. "Changing norms about gender inequality in education: Evidence from Bangladesh," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(6), pages 183-218.
    8. M. Najeeb Shafiq, 2011. "What Criteria Should Policy-makers Use for Assisting Households with Educational Expenditure?," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 12(1), pages 25-37, March.

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