Do Government Expenditures on Education and Health Reduce Gender Inequality? The Case of the Least Developed and Developing Countries

Abstract

Despite the rapid progress and developments in education and health all over the world, gender inequality is still an important issue in many parts of the world. Girls benefit less from education opportunities than boys, and it causes gender inequality. The same situation is also valid for health. While gender inequality is still an issue even in developed countries, it is more serious in the least developed and developing countries. Therefore, there is a need to reduce gender inequality through government intervention. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of government's health and education expenditures on gender inequality in the least developed and developing countries with panel data analysis. The study covers 24 countries for the 2010–2017 period. As a result of the analysis, it has been observed that the government's health expenditures reduce gender inequality, while education expenditures increase gender inequality. This finding indicates that education expenditures of governments do not reach girls in the least developed and developing countries. However, GDP per capita is the most important factor in reducing gender inequality.

Citation

Aydin, G.K. (2023), "Do Government Expenditures on Education and Health Reduce Gender Inequality? The Case of the Least Developed and Developing Countries", Chakraborty, C. and Pal, D. (Ed.) Gender Inequality and its Implications on Education and Health, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-180-620231003