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Social Divisions in School Participation and Attainment in India: 1983-2004

Author

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  • Asadullah, Niaz

    (University of Reading)

  • Kambhampati, Uma

    (University of Reading)

  • López Bóo, Florencia

    (Inter-American Development Bank)

Abstract

This study documents the size and nature of "Hindu-Muslim" and "boy-girl" gaps in children's school participation and attainments in India. Individual-level data from two successive rounds of the National Sample Survey suggest that considerable progress has been made in decreasing the Hindu-Muslim gap. Nonetheless, the gap remains sizable even after controlling for numerous socio-economic and parental covariates, and the Muslim educational disadvantage in India today is greater than that experienced by girls and Scheduled Caste Hindu children. A gender gap still appears within as well as between communities, though it is smaller within Muslim communities. While differences in gender and other demographic and socio-economic covariates have recently become more important in explaining the Hindu-Muslim gap, those differences altogether explain only 25 percent to 45 percent of the observed schooling gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Asadullah, Niaz & Kambhampati, Uma & López Bóo, Florencia, 2012. "Social Divisions in School Participation and Attainment in India: 1983-2004," IZA Discussion Papers 6329, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6329
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    6. Rashmi Rashmi & Bijay Kumar Malik & Sanjay K. Mohanty & Udaya Shankar Mishra & S. V. Subramanian, 2022. "Predictors of the gender gap in household educational spending among school and college-going children in India," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Escobal, Javier & Flores, Eva, 2009. "Maternal Migration and Child Well-Being in Peru," MPRA Paper 56463, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Varughese, Aswathy Rachel & Bairagya, Indrajit, 2020. "Group-based educational inequalities in India: Have major education policy interventions been effective?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social disparity; India; religion; gender inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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