The Economics of Gender and Educational Achievement: Stylized Facts and Causal Evidence

There are two well-established gender gaps in education. First, females tend to have higher educational attainment and achievement than males, and this is particularly the case for children from less advantaged backgrounds. Second, there are large differences in the fields of specialization chosen by males and females in college and even prior to college, and females disproportionately enter less highly paid fields. Gender differences in noncognitive traits, behavior, and interests have been shown to relate to differences in educational outcomes; however, this evidence cannot generally be given a causal interpretation. In contrast, the literature has been creative in estimating causal impacts of a wide range of factors using experimental and quasiexperimental variation. While the approaches are compelling, the findings vary widely across studies and are often contradictory. This may partly reflect methodological differences across studies, but it also may result from substantial true heterogeneity across educational systems and time periods. Lower educational achievement of males has been linked to gender differences in attitudes, behaviors, and educational aspirations as well as the tendency of males to mature at older ages. Differential field choices by gender are related to differences in comparative advantage by gender and gender differences in preferences for types of study and work and for nonpecuniary aspects of jobs, such as their flexibility and gender mix. There are reasons to believe that policy should address the two gender gaps, and many possible policy approaches exist. However, their effectiveness is unclear, and there is scope for further work to determine which policies are likely to be effective and in which circumstances.

Pernikahan Dini dan Budaya

Early marriage is still a common phenomenon in Indonesia. This phenomenon is motivated by various factors such as social, economic and cultural. This study aims to examine the role of cultural factors on the occurrence of early marriage in Indonesia. The culture proxyed by two forms, first, ethnicity background in the household and second, the matchmaking process. The analysis used Indonesia Life Survey (IFLS) data in 2014 with logistic model and ordinary least square (OLS). Results show that ethnic background has a very important role in influencing early marriage. Children from Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, Sasak and Betawi ethnic have a tendency to marry earlier than other tribes. The study also proves that matchmaking process is a significant factor that encourages early marriage. Children with matchmaking process do marriage at a younger age than children who choose their own partner (without matchmaking process). Keywords: J12 marriage; J16 Economics of gender