Before decollectivization, there was less opportunity for children to contribute to the household income. One would expect that poor families and poor areas would be the hardest hit by these changes. I have been examining equity issues in terms of differentials by gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity concerning both participation in education and also educational outcomes, such as occupational attainment and income. I have been particularly interested in the relationship between poverty and gender inequality. In rural areas, the educational participation of girls is more sensitive to family socio-economic status than is the educational participation of boys.
Families spend more for education when there are boys in the household than when there are girls.
In the context of rising costs of education, girls are at risk. In fact, between the 1982 and the 1990 censuses, we can see some evidence of an increase in the gender difference in transitions to junior high school in rural areas. Evidence suggests that poverty and educational costs affect girls disproportionately. Thus, we might expect that rising costs in education would disproportionately affect girls. In a period when costs are rising and poverty is more of an issue in terms of determining access to schooling, we see evidence of an increase in the gender gap in junior high-school transition.