The Determinants of Schooling in Egypt: The Role of Gender and Rural-Urban Residence

Abstract

This paper examines the role of gender and rural-urban residence, and the interaction between them in influencing schooling outcomes, using household level cross-section data from Egypt. Our empirical analysis finds strong evidence for the hypothesis that being male and living in urban areas significantly improves schooling outcomes. We show that relative to a female child who is ‘never enrolled’ in school, a male child is nearly twice as likely to be currently attending school, and over two and a half times more likely to have some schooling. Interestingly, the adverse effect of gender is greater in rural areas, with urban location increasing the odds of female children being currently enrolled. Finally, we find that female headship reduces the likelihood of a favorable schooling outcome for females and children living in rural areas.