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The tertiary tilt: education and inequality in the developing world

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  • Gruber, Lloyd
  • Kosack, Stephen
Abstract
Education is widely perceived to be a tonic for the rising inequality that often accompanies development. But most developing-country governments tilt their education spending toward higher education, which disproportionately benefits elites. We find that in countries with high "tertiary tilts," rising primary enrollment is associated a decade later with far higher inequality-not the lower Gini coefficients many would expect. Since most developing countries tilt their spending toward higher education, our analysis suggests that efforts that concentrate only on expanding mass education, such as the UN's Millennium Campaign, could end up raising inequality in much of the developing world.

Suggested Citation

  • Gruber, Lloyd & Kosack, Stephen, 2014. "The tertiary tilt: education and inequality in the developing world," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 54202, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:54202
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    2. Bennell, Paul, 2021. "The political economy of attaining Universal Primary Education in sub-Saharan Africa: Social class reproduction, educational distancing and job competition," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    3. Vachaspati Shukla & Udaya S. Mishra, 2020. "Expansion in Education and Its Impact on Income Inequality: Cross-sectional Evidence from India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(2), pages 331-362, June.
    4. Tao Tang & Lizeth Cuesta & Brayan Tillaguango & Rafael Alvarado & Abdul Rehman & Diana Bravo-Benavides & Natalia Zárate, 2022. "Causal Link between Technological Innovation and Inequality Moderated by Public Spending, Manufacturing, Agricultural Employment, and Export Diversification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    5. Christopher Pryor & Shaker A. Zahra & Garry D. Bruton, 2023. "Trusting without a Safety Net: The Peril of Trust in Base of the Pyramid Economies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 767-799, June.
    6. Sayoree Gooptu & Vivekananda Mukherjee, 2023. "School dropout and overeducation in developing economies: Feasibility of a budgetary solution†," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 825-852, May.
    7. Valentin F. Lang & Ms. Marina Mendes Tavares, 2018. "The Distribution of Gains from Globalization," IMF Working Papers 2018/054, International Monetary Fund.
    8. David Ansong & Moses Okumu & Frank Otchere & Isaac Koomson & Michael Sherraden, 2021. "Addressing the Burden of Education Financing in Low and Lower-Middle-Income Countries: The Role of Savings Accounts, Cash Transfers, and Other Income Sources," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 745-756, December.
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    10. Shelby Carvalho & Amare Asgedom & Pauline Rose, 2022. "Whose voice counts? Examining government‐donor negotiations in the design of Ethiopia’s large‐scale education reforms for equitable learning," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(5), September.
    11. Krafft, Caroline & Alawode, Halimat, 2018. "Inequality of opportunity in higher education in the Middle East and North Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 234-244.
    12. Binelli, Chiara & Loveless, Matthew & Whitefield, Stephen, 2015. "What Is Social Inequality and Why Does it Matter? Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 239-248.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    development; education; education spending; inequality; MDGs; primary education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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