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Measuring Education Inequality: Gini Coefficients of Education


File number :
IST-ISC-09e

Bibliographic reference :
Thomas, V., Wang, Y., & Fan, X. (2001). Measuring Education Inequality: Gini Coefficients of Education. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2525. [En ligne].
<http://www.worldbank.org/>
Consulté le 17 octobre 2005

Abstract :

The objective of the World Bank is to fight poverty and improve the living standard of people in developing countries. To achieve this objective, the Bank grants loans, provides strategic advice and technical support and shares knowledge.

The document entitled Measuring Education Inequality: Gini Coefficients of Education published in 2001 compares different indicators of inequity in education, including school attendance rates and average number of schooling years, by using the Gini coefficient of inequity in education. This coefficient enables researchers to estimate the gap between a real situation and an ideal situation (perfect equity score) based on different criteria. In this study, the indicator involved using the average educational level of people 15 years old and over as an inequity criterion.

In addition to detailing the methodologies used to calculate this coefficient, the document presents inequity statistics for 85 countries during the period between 1960 and 1990.

Among the main findings of this report, it was confirmed that in most countries, equity in educational systems improved between 1960 and 1990. Korea and Tunisia are among the countries that improved the most during that period, whereas Venezuela, Peru and Colombia lost ground in this respect.

What is more, other results have shown that the schooling gap between male and female students explain a major part of inequity in educational systems (Gini coefficient) and that this gap tends to widen over time. It was also found that in general, industrialized countries show the best outcome in terms of equity in education.

Lastly, although the educational Gini coefficient does not include any measure of the quality of education, this indicator is still an improvement in the assessment of equity in education, since it enables a comparison of countries over time.



Links :
http://www.worldbank.org/

Key Words :
Educational Indicators, International Comparisons, Longitudinal Study, World Bank, Gini Coefficient, Gender

Monitored Countries :
International