Who’s Not In School? Economic Barriers to Universal Primary Education in Papua New Guinea

Many studies recommend making primary education the priority investment in developing countries, because of its impact on economic growth and other development goals. Yet few developing countries achieve universal primary education despite numerous international commitments to this goal. This study focuses on Papua New Guinea, where over one-quarter of children are out of school. Household survey data are used to see the effect of individual, household and community characteristics on whether a child attends primary school. Increases in household income and in men’s education raise both boys’ and girls’ enrolments (slightly favouring girls) but women’s education has a significant impact only on girls’ schooling. Even after controlling for observable factors, girls’ enrolments lag behind those of boys and have significant unexplained differences across regions. Acknowledgements: This research is part of a World Bank poverty assessment for Papua New Guinea, for which financial support from the governments of Australia (TF-032753), Japan (TF-029460), and New Zealand (TF-033936) is gratefully acknowledged. All views in this paper are those of the author and should not be attributed to the World Bank. Biographical Note: John Gibson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Waikato. Address for Correspondence: Department of Economics, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand. Fax: (64-7) 838-4331. E-mail: [email protected]