Educational resource inequality among children in sub-Saharan Africa: trends and drivers

Vongai Kandiwa, Cornell University

Uneven fertility transitions and economic reversals could foster socio-economic inequality across sub Saharan African countries. But, the extent to which these processes influence educational resource inequality among children remains unclear. This study seeks to (i) determine levels and trends in educational resource inequality among children in sub Saharan Africa, and (ii) account for factors that drive changes in observed inequality. Using data from Penn World Tables and World Bank’s World Development Indicators, it estimates standards measures of inequality and applies decomposition techniques to account for factors that drive inequality. The evidence reveals high levels of resource inequality among children. Decomposition results show that age structure, size of economy, and share of GDP allocated to children’s schooling drive changes in resource inequality while variation in child population size has little effect. Overall, the study highlights consequences of uneven demographic transitions and argues that research on dividends should focus on children inequality.