2011年-世界发展银行全球_Evolving_Inequality_of_School_Attainment_in_Sri_Lanka_27页_821kb

Summary of "Evolving Inequality of School Attainment in Sri Lanka"

Core Content

This report examines the evolution of schooling inequality in Sri Lanka over the 20th century, focusing on the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment and its implications for income inequality. Using repeated cross-section household survey data from the Sri Lanka Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) across three rounds (1985-86, 1995-96, 2006-07), the authors construct measures of schooling years for adult males and females and analyze how educational outcomes have changed across birth cohorts and time.

Main Findings

Schooling Outcomes Over Time

• Male Schooling: The average years of schooling for males born in 1976-85 is twice that of males born in 1886-25.
• Female Schooling: The average years of schooling for females increased threefold from the oldest cohort (born in 1886-25) to the youngest (born in 1976-85).
• Gender Equality: The ratio of female to male schooling years increased from 66% in the oldest cohort to 107% in the youngest, indicating significant improvement in gender equality in education.

Regional Comparison

• In 1950, Sri Lanka had a significant advantage in schooling levels over most other developing countries.
• By the late 1970s, Latin America, East Asia, and the Middle East/North Africa had caught up with and surpassed Sri Lanka's schooling levels.
• Sri Lanka remains ahead of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, but the growth rate of school attainment has slowed over the decades.

Intergenerational Transmission of Schooling

• More educated parents are more likely to invest in their children's education due to preferences, financial capacity, and human capital.
• The intergenerational transmission of schooling inequality has declined over time, even after controlling for other variables.
• The marginal effect of mother's schooling on her daughters' schooling fell by nearly two-thirds from 1985-86 to 2006-07.
• The marginal effect of father's schooling on children's schooling also declined, though not as sharply as for mothers.

Cohort Analysis

• For children born before 1960, the estimated effects of parental schooling on child schooling were large (0.25–0.5).
• For more recent cohorts, these effects have nearly disappeared, suggesting a more meritocratic educational system.

Socioeconomic and Ethnic Disparities

• Tamil women experienced a sharp decline in school attainment in 1995-96, likely due to the ethnic conflict in the northeastern provinces.
• Urban households have a lower association between parental schooling and child schooling compared to rural households.
• Estate households had significantly lower school attainment than rural and urban households in 1985-86, but this disadvantage largely disappeared by 1995-96 and 2006-07.

Gender Differences in Parental Influence

• In the early periods, maternal schooling had a greater impact on daughters' schooling than paternal schooling.
• By the late 1990s, the effect of paternal schooling on sons' schooling was stronger than on daughters', and by 2006-07, the effect of maternal schooling on sons' schooling was more than 50% greater than on daughters'.
• This suggests a shift in gender dynamics in the influence of parental education on children's schooling.

Educational Reform and Equity

• The decline in intergenerational transmission of schooling inequality reflects the success of educational reforms in promoting access and equity.
• The improved distribution of schooling could have played a key role in reducing income inequality, had there not been compensating changes in other factors.

Key Information

• The report uses pooled HIES data from 1985-86 to 2006-07, covering over 150,000 individuals.
• Regression analysis is used to estimate the relationship between parental schooling and child schooling, with gender and birth cohort as key variables.
• District fixed effects are included to control for unobserved regional differences.
• The decline in intergenerational transmission of schooling inequality is real, not merely due to expansion of primary and lower secondary education.
• The meritocratic nature of the educational system has increased, with less influence from parental background on child schooling outcomes.

Conclusion

Sri Lanka has made remarkable progress in school attainment over the 20th century, particularly for women. However, the growth in education has slowed compared to other world regions. The decline in intergenerational transmission of schooling inequality suggests a more meritocratic system, with less influence from parental education on child outcomes. This is a positive development for equity and social mobility, though other factors such as ethnic conflict and socioeconomic disparities have had an impact on certain groups. The improved distribution of schooling is likely to have reduced income inequality, but the effects of compensating changes must be considered.