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This paper uses individual-level data and a differences-in-differences estimation strategy to test whether the education gender gap of Muslims is different from that of Christians. In particular, the paper uses data for young Lebanese and shows that, other things equal, girls (both Muslim and Christian) tend to receive more education than boys and that there is no difference between the education gender gap of Muslims and Christians. Therefore, the paper finds no support for the hypothesis that Muslims discriminate against female education. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper builds an index of social mobility for Lebanon and measures social mobility within Lebanese religious groups. The paper shows that Lebanon is characterized by low levels of social mobility, comparable to those of the least socially mobile Latin American countries. The paper also finds that, even after controlling for income, there are large differences in social mobility across religious groups and shows that the Christian Maronite and Muslim Shiite are the most socially mobile groups in Lebanon and that the Muslim Sunni is the group with the lowest level of social mobility. The paper concludes by suggesting a possible relationship between the results of this paper and the literature on targeting and draws some (probably controversial) implications for affirmative action programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]