Schooling and educational attainment: Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

Education and human capital accumulation are essential components of economic development. The present paper attempts to identify some of the individual and household level characteristics that affect the demand for schooling in Bangladesh. I examine the current enrolment status of children aged 6-12 and the highest grade attained for children aged 13-24. The first is estimated using a standard probit model and the second using a censored ordered probit model. Estimation results show that there is no gender differential in current enrolment status but grade attainment is higher for girls, relative to boys. An increase in the permanent income of the household is always associated with an increase in educational attainment. Parental education has a positive and statistically significant effect on the educational attainment of children, and mother's education has a stronger effect on both school enrolment and grade attainment of children compared with father's education.