The geography of boys’ disadvantages in school outcomes

Three dimensions increasingly shape political divides: place of residence (rural-urban), education level, and gender. In this paper, I study the common roots of the intersection of these dimensions In nearly all developed countries, boys have worse outcomes at school (particularly in reading), and young men are less likely than women to migrate from rural to urban areas, and achieve higher education.
I ask under what local conditions boys have worse education outcomes than girls. To answer this question, I focus on subnational variation in gender gaps and use population data from two large European countries – Poland and Italy. Both countries have obligatory standardized tests covering all students in a given grade each year. Basing on a rational choice theory, I hypothesize that labour markets offering relatively more opportunities in masculinized sectors (agriculture, industry, construction) discourage boys from pursuing formal education and aspiring to tertiary degrees, which contributes to the gender gap in educational outcomes. The results show that gender gaps are substantially larger in places with smaller population density and lower income per capita. As expected by the theory, boys’ disadvantages are larger in places with higher shares of jobs in agriculture and higher levels of employment among young boys and men. Also, in places with larger gender gaps at the end of primary school, more boys go to vocational schools and more girls migrate out. Further analyses explore the relevance of local educational and occupational opportunities and segregation, as well as children’s family background.
The study will allow policy-makers to focus their efforts oriented on gender equality in education in the most affected places. It also shows that key inequalities that shape contemporary political divides in many developed countries have common roots in early childhood.