Gender gap in educational attainment: evidence from rural India

Using a probit and censored ordered probit model of school completion we identify some state-specific factors influencing primary and middle school graduation probabilities of male and female children in two north-Indian states: Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. We find that education of the parents, economic and social status of the household and the village-level factors affect the graduation probabilities differently in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Both states exhibit a common feature: females are less likely to graduate primary school and middle school, compared with the boys. We decompose the gap between male and female graduation probabilities into coefficient and characteristic effects. In both the states, the education of the parents and development of village infrastructure seem to be the most important channel of narrowing the schooling gap.