Parents sometimes perceive that the economic return for educating daughters is lower than for educating sons. A related problem is parents' perception of the quality and relevance of education. In fact, in some settings, improving educational quality seems to increase girls' school enrollment more than boys' 2 . There are significant recurrent costs associated with present underutilization and drop out. Given the existing investments and the enormous social benefits associated with girls' education, the question is not how much it will cost to better educate girls, but how much it will cost not to.
Drop outs imply a heavy cost to the educational system, to girls, and to society.
Policies focusing on keeping girls in school might include incentive programs or consciousness-raising campaigns. The benefits of education for boys and girls are highest at the primary level. Yet many countries invest too much of their education budgets in higher level education. Shifting some of these resources from higher education to basic education could significantly improve the reach and quality of primary education. Significant improvements in the number and quality of school places could be also be made by allocating existing resources more efficiently.