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The sample of countries listed in Table 5 shows that onaverage, about one-half of households in Africa were belowtheir national poverty thresholds between 1997 and 2003.Household wellbeing was lower in rural areas comparedto urban areas. On average, the consumption ratio forthe poorest 20 % of rural households in Africa was 2.6%of the national consumption, while in the case of urbanhouseholds this was 4.2%. The educational attainmentof household heads in both rural and urban areas tendsto be an underlying factor in determining the share ofhousehold consumption ratios, based on evidence fromGhana. The higher the educational attainment of the femalehousehold head, the higher is the share in nationalconsumption, and therefore the better the wellbeing of thehousehold, holding other factors constant. This patternprevails in both urban and rural areas and it is also foundin male-headed households. Thus, education benefits allmalesand females; urban and rural localities.In order to examine the impact of female educational attainmenton poverty incidence, household level modelswere estimated for Ghana, using data from the 2003 GhanaCWIQ survey. As expected, in relation to “no schooling”,higher levels of school attainment by females are associatedwith lower poverty incidence, holding other factorsconstant. Generally, higher levels of schooling create opportunitiesfor employment and with the associated earningsthe ability to meet basic needs of life is enhanced. Theimpact of higher levels of schooling on poverty reductionis higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Given the factthat a larger proportion of the population resides in ruralareas, and also the fact that poverty is more prevalent inrural areas, this finding suggests that there is much to begained in wellbeing (both at the micro and macro levels)when the gender gap in education is closed and beyondthat when higher levels of educational attainment arerealized particularly for women in Africa. 24Higher school attainment of females helps (throughemployment) to reduce the incidence of poverty and toimprove the survival rate of children. The relationship betweenthe health status of children (using infant mortalityrates) and educational attainment of mothers is presentedin Table 6. The results clearly show that infant mortalityrates are higher for mothers with no education, and reduceto smaller numbers as higher educational attainment ofmothers is reached. Thus, there is an inverse relationshipbetween higher levels of schooling for mothers and theinfant mortality rates of their children.From a nutritional perspective, Sahn (1994) has underscoredthe contribution of income to consumption interms of improved nutrition. He notes that income is acritical determinant of long-term nutrition in both ruraland urban areas, and as such efforts at raising expenditurelevels is one of the salient prerequisites for reducingchronic malnutrition, and therefore, poverty levels. Hefurther observes that raising consumption or expenditurelevels is best accomplished via increasing household assetownership and raising their productivity through education.In this regard closing the gender gap in educationand increasing the average years of schooling can make adifference in terms of improving the health status of familiesin Africa. Through the various channels discussed,it is apparent that closing the gender gap in education isa step in the right direction.In conclusion, there are indications of progress as far asclosing the gender gap in education is concerned. Theobservation of convergence in the gender parity ratiosuggests that countries that started off with huge gendergaps in education are experiencing faster growth inthe relative enrolments of girls and in a way closing upthe gender gap. However, it seems unlikely that the gapwill be closed soon. However, it is important to ensurethat the gains realized so far are sustained. The NEPADframework has provided a policy thrust orientation forgovernments in Africa and the role of education in thatframework is explicit. Growth and development dependprimarily on the stock of physical and human capitaland technological improvements. The human capital ofa nation comprises the education, skills, experience andadaptability of human resources to the production process.The human resources include both males and femalesand it is through education that Africa’s potential can beunleashed. Closing the gender gap in education is vitaland the benefits of education are not only personalizedbut also tend to spillover to society at large.8) The favourable impact of education on household wellbeing has been pointed out in empirical studies on poverty such as Mukheerjeeand Benson (2003) on Malawi, Appleton (2002) on Uganda, and Sackey (2004) on Ghana.54 Africa’ Social Development Review 2010
TABLE 6 Health status of children by mother’s educational attainment: 1997-2002CountriesInfant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)Mother’s educational levelNo education Primary Secondary or higherCameroon 103.9 74.1 49.9Chad 112.7 101.6 74.9Ethiopia 119.1 85.0 63.5Ghana 67.5 70.3 51.3Guinea 112.0 78.4 75.6Kenya 82.2 79.7 40.0Malawi 116.6 114.3 65.4Mali 130.0 122.4 51.7Mozambique 155.6 143.9 72.5Niger 140.9 99.6 70.1Senegal 76.1 52.1 28.7Togo 87.4 72.1 54.4Uganda 106.7 88.4 52.6Zambia 108.1 98.8 70.3Zimbabwe 81.1 60.6 54.0Average 106.7 89.4 58.3Source: World Development Report 2006 (Table A3, pp. 282-283).ReferencesAppleton, S. 2002., “The Rich Are Just Like Us, OnlyRicher”: Poverty Functions or Consumption Functions?Journal of African Economies, vol. 10, no.4, pp. 433-469.Aromolaran, A.B. 2006. “Estimates of Mincerian Returnsto Schooling in Nigeria”, Oxford Development Studies,vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 265-289.Aromolaran, A.B. 2004. “Wage Returns to Schooling inNigeria”, African Development Review, vol. 16, no. 3,pp. 433-455.Aryes, R. and M.T. Simon .2003. “Education, Povertyand Sustainable Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu: Inequalities,Opportunities and Constraints”, Review of PoliticalEconomy, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 211-229.Barro, R. and J. Lee .2001. “International Data on EducationalAttainment Updates and Implications”, pp. 1-38Card, D. 1999. “The Causal Effect of Education on Earnings”,in Ashenfelter, O. and D. Card (eds.), Handbookof Labor Economics, vol. 3a, Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp.1801-1859.Ghana Statistical Service .2008. Ghana Living StandardsSurvey: Report of the Fifth Round (GLSS5), Accra.Ghana Statistical Service .2000. Ghana Living StandardsSurvey: Report of the Fourth Round (GLSS4), Accra.Glick, P. and D.E. Sahn .2000. “Schooling of Girls andBoys in a West African Country: The Effects of ParentalEducation, Income and Household Structure”, Economicsof Education Review, vol. 19, pp.63-87.Havenman, R. and B. Wolfe .1995. “The Determinantsof Children’s Attainments: A Review of Methods andFindings”, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 33, Issue4, December, pp. 1829-1878.Africa’ Social Development Review 201055
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The AfricanSocialDevelopmentReview2
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Page 12 and 13: Regional Migration PatternsA STUDY
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