An Analysis of Disparities in Education: The Case of Primary School Completion Rates in Bolivia

The Education Reform Program launched in the mid-1990s by the Government of Bolivia had important accomplishments, particularly by increasing the coverage of primary education. However, the high rates of coverage observed at national level conceal the inequality in the distribution of schooling across children from different income groups, from indigenous households or even among municipalities from different areas of the country. This document intends to present a brief diagnosis of disparities in education access an attainment exploring data at individual and municipal level. The document finds that children from low-income families, indigenous groups and/or rural areas are less likely to finish primary school. Similar disparities are evident when observing data at municipal level. High poverty incidence, high indigenous-groups concentration and high dispersion of the population, are basic characteristics of municipalities with low primary school completion rates. The document also suggests a simple methodology that allows to identify municipalities that are high performers and low performers. This approach combines quantitative and qualitative analysis and may well bring to light important actions that could be undertaken in the poorly performing school districts to improve their ability to improve their performance