Educational Expansion in Africa (1965-2010): Implications for Economic Inequality between Countries

Education is presumed to be a growth factor and a great equalizer. From that perspective, an expansion of schooling in Africa should promote economic convergence between countries of this region. We test this hypothesis and explore which aspect of schooling -quantity or quality- matters most. Using existing national statistics, we decompose the change in between-country inequality during the 1965-2010 period into the influences of demographic, economic, and schooling forces. The analyses show a 50% rise in GDP inequality during the study period, with some of the divergence stemming from differences in population trends (18%) and total factor productivity (33%). Remarkably, nearly half of the divergence was associated with trends in education. Quality, rather than quantity of schooling, was more influential in reducing inequality. Such findings qualify the importance of mere enrollments, and they support concern that Africa’s gains in enrollment must not be secured at the expense of quality