Female educational attainment in Latin America : a survey

This paper reviews the literature on the determinants of educational attainment of Latin American girls and women. It draws on the general findings to identify and assess policies designed or proposed to improve education for females. The first finding is that educational attainment of females reflects a country's level of income and the characteristics of its educational expansion. The main issues in educational attainment relate to income and a country's degree of economic development, although gender related differences exist, particularly in higher education. Another finding is that both school inputs and family characteristics play a strong role in achievement and attainment for girls at the primary level. Simple changes in quality inputs, such as provision of textbooks, can raise achievement and retention. The impact of these changes is particularly strong among children from lower income and rural backgrounds. Parents' income and years of schooling also have a significantly positive effect on a child's education. Finally, the largest differences between male and female enrollment rates are observed at the higher education levels. Even in those countries with insignificant gender differences in enrollment rates, women require higher levels of education than do men for the same jobs.