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The evolution of gender gaps in numeracy and literacy between childhood and young adulthood

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  • Borgonovi, Francesca
  • Choi, Alvaro
  • Paccagnella, Marco

Abstract

Numeracy and literacy are important foundation skills which command significant wage premia in modern labour markets. The existence of gender differences in these skills is therefore of potential concern, and has spurred a large amount of research, especially with respect to numeracy skills. Still, little is known about the moment in which such gaps emerge, how they evolve, and if this evolution differs across countries. We use data from large scale international assessments to follow representative samples of birth-cohorts over time, and analyse how gender gaps in numeracy and literacy evolve from age 10 to age 27. We find that the advantage of boys in numeracy is small at age 10, but grows considerably between age 15 and 27. The gender gap in literacy follows a very different pattern: it is small at age 10, large and in favour of girls at age 15, and negligible by age 27.

Suggested Citation

  • Borgonovi, Francesca & Choi, Alvaro & Paccagnella, Marco, 2021. "The evolution of gender gaps in numeracy and literacy between childhood and young adulthood," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:82:y:2021:i:c:s0272775721000388
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102119
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    Cited by:

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    3. Nicoletti, Cheti & Sevilla, Almudena & Tonei, Valentina, 2022. "Gender Stereotypes in the Family," IZA Discussion Papers 15773, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Griselda, Silvia, 2024. "Gender gap in standardized tests: What are we measuring?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 191-229.
    5. Alice Bertoletti & Marta Cannistrà & Melisa Diaz Lema & Chiara Masci & Anna Mergoni & Lidia Rossi & Mara Soncin, 2023. "The Determinants of Mathematics Achievement: A Gender Perspective Using Multilevel Random Forest," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    6. Avvisati, Francesco & Givord, Pauline, 2023. "The learning gain over one school year among 15-year-olds: An international comparison based on PISA," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender gaps; Skills; Numeracy; Literacy; Large-scale assessments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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