Gender Parity and Schooling Choices

Abstract

We examine the determinants of gender differences in schooling choices using data on 290,000 secondary school applicants in Ghana. Over a quarter of female students choose home economics as their preferred field of study compared to two per cent of males. We find that schooling choices vary significantly with academic performance and educational norms. Higher performing female students and those from districts with a history of gender parity in educational attainment are less likely to choose home economics. Differences across geographic areas account for more of the variation in schooling choices than observable individual, family, and school-level characteristics can explain.