Education attainment and economic growth: Gender disparities perspective

Abstract

The latest trend in educational attainment has gripped almost the entire world, even the most developed countries. Their concentration is now not only on the highest possible achievements but also contribution to the economic development of society. The study aims to analyze the gender-based trends in education attainment, specifically below upper secondary education, post-secondary non-tertiary education, and tertiary education, for the period of 2007–2021 in ten economically developed countries with the highest gross domestic product (GDP), as well as examine the relationship between education attainment and GDP growth. The result shows that men have a higher percentage of attainment than women in below upper secondary education and upper secondary non-tertiary education. Conversely, women have a higher percentage of education attainment at the highest level: tertiary education. Moreover, the analysis indicates a direct relationship between below-secondary and upper-secondary non-tertiary education and GDP growth, while a direct relationship exists between GDP growth and tertiary education. Consequently, policies for reducing gender disparities should be in place to stimulate the enrolment of young adults in those professions that contribute more to the economic output. The research has its limitations in that other countries are not included in the study and the quality of studies is not taken into consideration.