education outcomes, are more likely to perform child labor, and are more likely to become unemployed later in life (Bowles et al. 2005, Becker and Tomes 1986, Jiménez et al. 2006). Thus, identification of systematic gaps within indigenous groups may not only reveal educational disadvantages faced by men and women in each group, but can also help understand other disparities and inter-generational patterns that go well beyond those outcomes.

The analysis presented in this paper contributes to the education literature in Bolivia in three ways. First, the paper documents, using the most recent census data, that there is a cumulative disadvantage associated with being both female and indigenous, which is manifested in measured gaps in literacy, years of schooling, and primary and secondary school completion. Second, the paper shows that gender education gaps have become narrower over time for all ethnic groups, as indicated by smaller gender- and ethnicity-based disparities among younger cohorts. Nevertheless, gaps in school completion are still large, even among the younger cohorts of indigenous groups. Finally, the paper reveals a systematic pattern of gender-based disadvantage _within_ the indigenous population, which has largely been neglected by the previous literature. In particular, it shows that Quechuas have the lowest average educational attainment in the country, but this is accompanied by relatively small differences between Quechua men and Quechua women. Aymaras, on the other hand, have a much higher average attainment level (in fact, the second highest in all of Bolivia, after nonindigenous groups), but this is accompanied by the largest gender gap observed within any group in the country, making Aymara women particularly disadvantaged relative to Aymara men.

Overall, these findings suggest that the greatest penalty to Quechua women’s educational achievement stems from their indigenous identity, while the penalty faced by Aymara women stems from being _both_ indigenous _and_ female. The gender- and ethnicity-based differentials captured in this paper warrant further investigation, as they have implications on intergenerational transmission of disadvantage, as well as on the design and implementation of education programs in Bolivia.

# **2. Indigenous Peoples and Education Reform in Bolivia**

Indigenous peoples in Bolivia, a lower middle-income country that hosts the largest share of indigenous population in Latin America, have had a long and complex history with education. Since the early 20<sup>th</sup> century, when education became a central tenet of nation-building and the official mechanism through which to create a _mestizo_ nation, Bolivia has had a contentious, if not paradoxical discourse on indigenous education. The education literature on Bolivia has generally mirrored this discourse and has been influenced by successive reforms and policy shifts that have taken place over a century.

For the post-colonial Bolivian state, schooling was an essential part of its ambition to integrate indigenous peoples into “mainstream society” and to create a common identity around which Bolivia could unite and progress (Salmon 1986, Choque 1992, Claure 1989). The first wave of nationwide education reforms, implemented during the first half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, reflected these testaments, with a section dedicated to rural and indigenous education being created under 4