Gender discrimination and inequalities in education expenditure in India
International Journal of Social Economics
ISSN: 0306-8293
Article publication date: 21 March 2023
Issue publication date: 28 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, the study has investigated the changing scenario of gender bias in households' education expenditure and the socioeconomic factors responsible for it. Secondly, the study has estimated the inequality in education expenditure for the male and female students and determined the significance of socioeconomic variables in gender discrimination.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the above-mentioned issues, this paper has used the unit-level data of NSSO 52nd, 64th, 71st and 75th rounds from 1995–1996 to 2017–2018. The log linear regression model is applied to estimate factor impending average education expenditure dynamics. The Oaxaca–Blinder Decomposition method has been employed to measure gender discrimination, and the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient are used to assess inequality among girls experiencing prejudice.
Findings
The study has discovered an gender bias in education expenditure against females during the study period in India. Further, it has been found that gender discrimination against girl students is decreasing. Moreover, the factors such as age, religion, castes, MPCE (income quantile), type of institution, present enrolment and type of education are responsible for this gender differences.
Originality/value
This paper uses 20 years of household-level data for study and suggests that discriminatory behaviour of households and credit constraints of the underdeveloped countries prevent investment in girl's education. Therefore, the state must pay for education of girls by offering scholarships and free or heavily subsidized education. In addition to this, awareness programs for gender equality should also be implemented by the government, especially in rural areas.
Peer review
The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0537.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Shree Priya Singh sincerely acknowledge the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) for the Doctoral Fellowship with the Grant Number: RFD/2018-19/GEN/ECO/47.
Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation
Singh, S.P., Singh, P. and Komaraiah, J.B. (2023), "Gender discrimination and inequalities in education expenditure in India", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 50 No. 9, pp. 1323-1340. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0537
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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