Measuring the Determinants of School Completion in Pakistan: Analysis of Censoring and Selection Bias. Center Discussion Paper.

This paper explores the demand for child schooling in Pakistan, using the "Pakistan Integrated Household Survey" (1991). There have been few such studies for Pakistan, a country with relatively low enrollment rates and education levels, high illiteracy, and a large disparity between male and female education. This study focuses on two potential sources of bias in the estimation of the demand for schooling. First, studies which do not distinguish between currently enrolled children and those who have completed their schooling subject their estimates to a form of censoring bias. Second, studies which exclude samples for children who have left the household may introduce sample selection bias if the decisions to leave home and to attend school are related. This study finds evidence of both "censoring" and "sample selection" bias in the demand for child schooling in Pakistan, and shows that the sample chosen for the estimation of schooling demand can alter the results. While the majority of educational resources in Pakistan are earmarked for improving access to primary schools, the money would be better spent increasing access to boys' and girls' middle and secondary schools. Includes 26 notes. (Contains 65 references, 11 tables, and 5 figures.) (Author/BT)