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Inequality of Opportunity in Educational Attainment in Middle East and North Africa: Evidence from Household Surveys

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  • Ragui Assaad

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Djavad Salehi-Isfahani
  • Rana Hendy

    (Economic Research Forum)

Abstract

Education is widely considered as the most important path to social mobility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), yet there are very few studies of the extent to which it fulfills this promise. In this paper we use survey data from seven MENA countries to understand the relationship between schooling attainment of youth and the circumstances into which they are born, namely gender, parent education, and type of community. We consider both the probability of entry and of reaching secondary school using censored ordered probit. We find an alarming degree of inequality of opportunity in attainment in most of these countries, especially in Iraq and Yemen. Previous results of inequality of opportunity in MENA in achievement show that building a level playing field in learning requires much more than free provision of schools; the results of this study find the same for attending and staying in school.

Suggested Citation

  • Ragui Assaad & Djavad Salehi-Isfahani & Rana Hendy, 2014. "Inequality of Opportunity in Educational Attainment in Middle East and North Africa: Evidence from Household Surveys," Working Papers 834, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:834
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    Cited by:

    1. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad, 2016. "Inequality of Opportunity in the Labor Market for Higher Education Graduates in Egypt and Jordan," International Economic Association Series, in: Ishac Diwan & Ahmed Galal (ed.), The Middle East Economies in Times of Transition, chapter 5, pages 159-185, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Cuesta, Lizeth & Ruiz, Yomara, 2021. "Efecto de la globalización sobre la desigualdad. Un estudio global para 104 países usando regresiones cuantílicas [Effect of globalization on inequality. A global study for 104 countries using quan," MPRA Paper 111022, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Maia Sieverding, 2015. "Intergenerational Mobility in Women's Employment Outcomes in Egypt," Working Papers 978, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2015.
    4. Aysit Tansel, 2015. "Inequality of Opportunities of Educational Achievement in Turkey over Time," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 1506, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    5. Assaad, Ragui & Krafft, Caroline, 2015. "Is free basic education in Egypt a reality or a myth?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 16-30.
    6. Reham Rizk & Ronia Hawash, 2020. "Education Gap and Youth: A Growing Challenge in The MENA Region," Working Papers 1394, Economic Research Forum, revised 20 May 2020.
    7. Daniel Ruiqi Wang & David P Hajjar & Curtis L Cole, 2020. "International Partnerships for the Development of STEM and Medical Education of Middle Eastern Women," International Journal of Higher Education, Sciedu Press, vol. 9(2), pages 1-1, April.
    8. Reham Rizk & Hala Abou-Ali, 2016. "Out of Pocket Education Expenditure and Household Budget: Evidence from Arab Countries," Working Papers 996, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2016.
    9. Melani Cammett & Nisreen Salti, 2016. "Popular Grievances and Perceptions of Socioeconomic Conditions in the Arab Region Prior to the Uprisings," Working Papers 1006, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2016.
    10. Krafft, Caroline & Alawode, Halimat, 2018. "Inequality of opportunity in higher education in the Middle East and North Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 234-244.
    11. Anis Ochi & Yosra Saidi, 2022. "Do Tunisian Children Have an Equal Chance to Access to School 8 Years After Revolution?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(3), pages 2007-2029, September.
    12. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & John Roemer & Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2016. "Inequality of Opportunity in Income and Consumption: the Middle East and North Africa Region in Comparative Perspective," Working Papers 1003, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2016.
    13. Florencia Torche, 2019. "Educational mobility in developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-88, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Wei, Huaying & Guo, Rui & Sun, Honghao & Wang, Nan, 2021. "Household leverage and education expenditure: the role of household investment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    15. Mallick, Debdulal & Khalil, Islam & Nicholas, Aaron, 2023. "Does Less Education Harm Health? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in a Developing Country," MPRA Paper 116184, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & John Roemer & Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2016. "Inequality of Opportunity in Income and Consumption in Egypt," Working Papers 1002, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2016.
    17. Nicolò Bird, 2020. "Most affected subgroups in young people's transitions to work in the MENA region," Policy Research Brief 69, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.

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    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

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