Article Green Open Access 2015

What drives the reversal of the gender education gap? Evidence from Germany

RR
Riphahn, Regina T.
 SC
Schwientek, Caroline
Applied Economics
Journal · Vol. 47 · Issue 53 · pp. 5748-5775
Abstract

We study the mechanisms that are associated with the gender education gap and its reversal in Germany. We focus on three outcomes, graduation from upper secondary school, any tertiary education and tertiary degree. Neither individual and family background nor labour market characteristics appear to be strongly associated with the gender education gap. There is some evidence that the gender gap in upper secondary education reflects the rising share of single parent households which impacts boys’ attainment more than girls’. The gender education gap in tertiary education is correlated with the development of class sizes and social norms. © 2015 Taylor & Francis.

Keywords

Author Keywords

gender gap Educational attainment wage premium

Index Keywords

higher education Germany wage educational attainment gender disparity secondary education single parent
Author Affiliations
Empirical Economics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Bayern, Germany
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
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