Land Ownership Inequality and Inequality in Education Attainment in Kenya
Date
2021-10-04
Authors
Gathiaka, John Kamau
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
Unequal asset ownership accompanies other socioeconomic inequalities so that
the disparity in physical possessions, particularly land, is worth a rigorous analysis.
The case in point is the inverse relationship that has been reported across countries
between unequal landownership and education attainment. In Kenya, inequalities
in landownership vary across and within counties, households included. Using data
from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey and the Kenya Population and
Housing Census, the study applies a fractional IV probit regression model to examine
the relationship between the Gini of land ownership and education inequality across
counties in Kenya. The evidence generated does not confirm the strong relationship
between land inequality and inequality in education previously documented in other
countries.
Inequality in primary education attainment across counties is likely due to county
disparities in household size, income, urbanization rate, and participation in high level
public employment, rather than to a landownership disparity. A 1% increase in county
average per capita household expenditure reduces the Gini of inequality in primary
education attainment by 0.1011. A one percentage increase in urban population
reduces the inequality in primary education attainment by 0.16%. A similar pattern
is generally uncovered for secondary education. Land inequality does not influence
inequalities in education attainment. Government financing of education through
bursaries and free education muffle any such influence. The findings suggest that
government financing of education and policies that promote urbanization, enhance
quality of families and increase high level participation in government affairs lower
inequalities in schooling. Further, an affirmative action on education for Muslims is
required to reduce inequalities in schooling.
Description
Keywords
Land ownership , Education attainment , Inequality , Kenya.