Educating Girls in the Third World: The Demographic, Basic Needs, and Economic Benefits

Abstract

This study of developing countries examines the relationships between school enrollments by gender and gender inequality in enrollments and the lagged outcomes of socioeconomic development: crude birth rate life expectancy crude death rate child death rate the infant mortality rate the index of net social progress and the annual average rate of growth in per capita gross national product. This study is based on models developed by Wimberley and London and Williams. Comparisons are made between school enrollment by gender for both primary grades and secondary grades. Comparisons are made from baseline models that measure the effect of education on each dependent variable and control for development. Comparisons of baseline models are made to more fully specified models. 84 equations were constructed. Findings indicate that a larger proportion of total primary and secondary school students enrolled was more strongly related to a subsequent reduction in the crude birth rate than enrollments by gender. The high gender inequality measure of enrollment was related to the smallest fertility declines or even fertility increases. Total enrollments had a strong impact on all of the mortality measures. Girls education had the strongest impact on infant and child mortality. Gender inequalities were related to higher infant and child mortality. The suggestion from multivariate models is that primary school gender inequality had a modest negative effect on economic growth and on basic needs provision and that secondary gender inequality had no impact on economic growth or basic needs provision. Findings support the literature that links improved education for girls with improved demographic social and economic development.