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Education Quality, Income Inequality, and Female Labor Force Participation in Brazil

Author

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  • John H.Y. Edwards

    (Tulane University)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of education quality on income inequality among men and on female labor force participation. I introduce a new dataset on local education expenditures for a 64-year period. By matching education spending to the time and place where each person went to school, the data allow for a much more granular measurement of human capital differences than measures like level of schooling or years of school attainment. They also permit measurement of human capital differences and evolution over a much longer time period than the data that are typically available. I show that differences in the quality of education received during childhood become significant determinants of income differences among fully employed adult men. In a finding that is new to the literature, I report that school quality differentials are significant determinants of how adult women allocate their time between domestic labor and formal wage work.

Suggested Citation

  • John H.Y. Edwards, 2024. "Education Quality, Income Inequality, and Female Labor Force Participation in Brazil," Working Papers 2409, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:2409
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Duryea, Suzanne & Ribas, Rafael P. & Sampaio, Breno & Sampaio, Gustavo R. & Trevisan, Giuseppe, 2023. "Who benefits from tuition-free, top-quality universities? Evidence from Brazil," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
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    6. C. Kirabo Jackson & Claire L. Mackevicius, 2024. "What Impacts Can We Expect from School Spending Policy? Evidence from Evaluations in the United States," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 412-446, January.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female Labor Force Participation; Women and Economic Development; Brazil; Education Quality; Income Distribution; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • N16 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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