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Religion and Female Educational Attainment

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  • SETH W. NORTON
  • ANNETTE TOMAL

Abstract

The paper reviews the literature on the education, gender, and religion nexuses and identifies plausible hypotheses that religion adversely affects female education. The link between major religions and female educational attainment is examined using the Barro‐Lee data set for a sample of 97 countries. The estimates include control variables for colonial heritage, urbanization, labor force participation, and young adult mortality. The estimates show powerful negative links between female educational attainment and the proportion of ethnoreligions, Hindu, and Muslim adherents in a country, with similar results for the gender gap. The paper offers some interpretative thoughts and research agendas.

Suggested Citation

  • Seth W. Norton & Annette Tomal, 2009. "Religion and Female Educational Attainment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(5), pages 961-986, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jmoncb:v:41:y:2009:i:5:p:961-986
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1538-4616.2009.00240.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Elizabeth Moorhouse, 2023. "The Representation of Women as Post-Secondary Graduates and the Role of Educational Systems: Evidence From 51 Countries," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 68(1), pages 74-99, March.
    3. Gil Avnimelech & Yaron Zelekha, 2023. "Religion and the gender gap in entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 629-665, June.
    4. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2022. "Individualism and women's economic rights," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 579-597.
    5. Melike Kökkizil, 2022. "Parental Religiosity and Missing School-Girls in Turkey," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS91, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    6. Ferry, Marin & de Talancé, Marine & Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel, 2022. "Less debt, more schooling? Evidence from cross-country micro data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 153-173.
    7. Abdulla, Kanat & Serikbayeva, Balzhan, 2024. "Gender gaps in labor market outcomes in a resource-dependent country," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
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    9. Berlanda, Andrea & Buonanno, Paolo & Puca, Marcello, 2023. "Religion and women: How Waldensians reduced the gender gap," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Horst Feldmann, 2019. "World Religions and Human Capital Investment: The Case of Primary Education," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 31(2), pages 101-123, July.

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