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There is a significant amount of literature on the role of parental gender preferences in determining the level of education expenditure for children. In this study, I examine the effects of such preferences on parents' education expenditure in Nepal. Using longitudinal data from three Nepal Living Standards Surveys, I apply several decomposition methods to determine the level of bias that parents display in spending on their children's education. I find that parents indeed spend more on boys than girls in both rural and urban areas in Nepal. I also find that this bias is reflected in the higher enrollment levels of boys than girls in private schools.
Keywords: decomposition, education expenditure, gender discrimination, household decisions, Nepal Living Standards Surveys
JEL codes: H52, I24
(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
I. Introduction
Nepal has made remarkable progress in achieving a degree of gender parity in the field of education. Net enrollment rates have achieved parity at all levels of schooling, reflecting the government's success in ensuring the equal participation of girls in schools. However, while improvements in enrollment rates are a positive first step, this does not imply gender parity in the education sector. Various forms of discrimination-such as the reproduction of discriminatory norms in the process of socialization and in the classroom (e.g., a curriculum that favors traditional gender roles), encouragement for continuing traditional course selection (Collins 2009), and at times outright discriminating behavior-have been observed in schools (Hickey and Stratton 2007, Bandyopadhyay and Subhramaniam 2008). At the household level as well, girls are expected to spend more time on chores rather than on education (Mason and Khandker 1996, Levison and Moe 1998); are more likely to drop out of school (Sabates et al. 2010); and are less likely to continue their education at higher levels. Another form of household discrimination, which forms the topic of this study, is differential treatment in education expenditure in which parents spend more on boys' education than they do on girls' education.
Gender parity is a basic precondition for a just and equitable society. Arguments for gender equality also go beyond reasons of justice and equality. Empowering women is crucial for the socioeconomic development of any country. Studies report that higher levels of education in women lead to higher...