Gender Bias in Household Education Spending

Household spending on education depends on the parent’s preference for equality among children which affects how the resources are allocated for children’s education of different expected returns. Discrimination in household spending on education manifests how parents discriminate between boys and girls within a household. Using the data from a field survey conducted in four districts of West Bengal this study examines the factors underlying household decisions to spend on children’s education and compares the magnitude of gender disparity in education expenditure. In order to the inequality in education expenditure and factors that contribute to household expenditure inequality we decompose educational expenditure at individual-level data to find out the sources of inequality by various observable characteristics. Household spending on education with respect to gender reveals that there is underinvestment in girls’ schooling relative to boys. The results show that household income is the key to determining the level of household expenditure on education.