An Empirical Analysis of Gender Bias in Education Spending in Paraguay

Gender affects household spending in two areas that have been widely studied in the literature. One strand documents that greater female bargaining power within households results in a variety of shifts in household production and consumption. One important source of bargaining power is ownership of assets, especially land. Another strand examines the gender bias in spending on children. This paper addresses both strands simultaneously. In this paper, differences in spending on education are examined empirically, both at the household and individual levels. Results are mixed, though the balance of evidence weighs toward pro-male bias in spending on education at the household level. Results also indicate that the relationship between asset ownership and female bargaining power within the household are contingent on the type of asset.