Explaining the rural-urban learning achievements gap in Ethiopian primary education: a re-centered influence function decomposition using Young Lives data

Abstract

ABSTRACT The rural-urban learning achievements gap is a persistent issue to be addressed from a different approach. This study employed re-centered influence function decomposition with Young Lives data to estimate the rural-urban education production function and decompose the rural-urban learning achievements gap in Ethiopia. Results revealed that the rural-urban education production function is different across achievements distributions. Moreover, most of the rural-urban learning achievements gap is explained by student background characteristics. Unmeasured characteristics explain much of the proportion of the gap but the importance of that proportion varies across the distribution. Policy implications of the findings were discussed.