Gender and Household’s Spending on Education: An Empirical Evidence

This paper examines whether the household's spending on education based on gender exhibits pro-boy bias or not. The study examines two potential mechanisms through which the gender-based difference in education spending can situate itself. Firstly, the association of gender with the enrolment of children in schools is tested. Secondly, the difference in expenditure on education of children, conditional on enrolling them in schools, is examined. The study used multiple regression analysis and chi-square test to achieve its objectives. The data for the study was collected through a structured interview schedule. The data for the study was collected at individual level. The results of the analysis reveal that, on the whole, gender has no association with the school enrolment. The study found that the annual household expenditure on boys is 7.35% higher than on girls.