The gender gap in children’s educational time investments in informal settlements
Abstract We document gender differences in children’s time investments in education, unpaid labour, and leisure in an understudied population of children living in urban informal settlements in Indonesia and Fiji. Using within-settlement and within-sibling comparisons, we find that boys spend significantly less time than girls on schooling and homework and more time on leisure activities. We find no evidence that parents spend less time engaged in educational activities with sons compared with daughters. We find that the gender gaps in time use are more pronounced among children whose parents have lower schooling and more financial constraints.
Authors
- Syaidah Syamsul
- Nicole Black (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-7054)
- Rohan Sweeney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3243-9523)
- Fiona Barker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9203-5766)
- David W. Johnston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3185-2890)
- Michelle Escobar Carías
- Rosnaena
- Taniela Waka
Institutions
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Monash Health (AU)
- Universitas Veteran Republik Indonesia Makassar (ID)
- Monash University (AU)
- Fiji National University (FJ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Review of Economics of the Household
- Published
- 2025-03-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-025-09772-7
- Primary Topic
- Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government
- Monash University
- New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Australian Research Council