Empirical analysis of the impact of gender inequality on the gender gap in academic achievement

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K01536
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 07050:Public economics and labor economics-related
• Research Institution: Fukuoka University
• Principal Investigator: Tamada Keiko 福岡大学, 経済学部, 教授 (80389337)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 学力 / 男女の学力差 / ジェンダー / ジェンダー指数

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study analyzes the impact of gender inequality on the gender gap in mathematics and reading skills. The fact that girls' academic achievement is, on average, lower than that of boys in mathematics has been considered problematic, and many studies have investigated the relationship between the gender gap in academic achievement and gender inequality. Some research has shown that the results of studies on the relationship between the gender gap in academic achievement and gender inequality are not robust. Focusing on the fact that there are countries where girls outperform boys in math with high- and low-gender inequality, I found a U-shaped relationship between the gender gap in academic achievement and gender inequality. This study reveals that reducing gender inequality does not necessarily narrow the gender gap in academic achievement. Furthermore, it was found that there are gender inequalities in areas that affect the gender gap　in academic achievement and those that do not.

Free Research Field

教育の経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義は、男女の学力差と男女の不平等度の間にU字型の関係があることを示した点である。先行研究では、先進国では男女の不平等度が縮小すると男女の学力差も縮小する傾向にあったが、発展途上国を分析対象に含めると男女の学力差と男女の不平等度との間に相関が見られなかった。この理由については明らかにされてこなかったが、女子の成績が男子の成績を上回る国に男女の不平等度が低い国と高い国があることに気づき、男女の学力差と男女の不平等度との間に統計的に有意なU字型の関係が存在することを示すことができた。この結果、国によっては男女の不平等度を解消しても男女の学力差は解消しないことが明らかになった。