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Son preference, intrahousehold discrimination, and the gender gap in education in China

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  • Guo, Hao
  • Hu, Chenxu
  • Ding, Xiaozhou

Abstract

This paper investigates the gender gap in education by dividing it into two parts: the part that comes from intrahousehold discrimination and the part that comes from outside of the family. We develop a novel approach to measure the gender gap in education due to intrahousehold discrimination. Using China Household Income Project (2013) survey data, we find that intrahousehold discrimination accounts for a large part of the gender gap in education. The gap is large and persistent over time in both rural and urban regions, although the overall gender gap in education has declined significantly over time.

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  • Guo, Hao & Hu, Chenxu & Ding, Xiaozhou, 2022. "Son preference, intrahousehold discrimination, and the gender gap in education in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 324-339.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:79:y:2022:i:c:p:324-339
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2022.02.007
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