Does the Structure of Production Affect Demand for Schooling in Peru?

Abstract

The author uses the regional structure of the economy, proxied by the shares of services and industry in regional gross domestic product (GDP), as an indicator of the demand for educated workers. By examining whether the level of schooling as a function of shares of services and industry differs for men and women, a gender bias can be detected in the demand for schooling. The author estimates schooling demand functions for males and females using data for Peru in the 1980s. His primary findings are : 1) as services and industry increase their shares of GDP, relative to the share of agriculture, the demand for schooling of both males and females increases, 2) as the share of services in GDP increases compared to agriculture, the demand for schooling by women increases more than the demand for schooling by men, 3) and increase in the share of industry relative to agriculture is associated with an increase in the demand for schooling of men rather than of women, 4) a decrease in the supply price of schooling increases the level of schooling attained by both sexes, but the gain is larger for women, and 5) increases in wealth are associated with increases in the demand of both sexes for schooling.

Keywords: Population & Development, Teaching and Learning, Environmental Economics & Policies, Health Monitoring & Evaluation, Economic Theory & Research