  This paper explores how gender, birth order, and innate ability affect
educational disparities among children within households. Using both a
reduced-form approach and a structural model of household educational resource
allocation, it identifies the contributions of gender and birth order to
intra-household educational inequality. In Benin, significant disparities are
found in households with non-educated heads and mixed-gender children, with 70%
of the inequality attributed to gender and birth order. In contrast, households
led by college-educated heads show 24% gender effects and 9% birth order
effects. Additionally, college-educated parents exhibit less overall
educational inequality among their children. Policy counterfactuals assess the
impact of (1) education vouchers, (2) compulsory education, and (3) targeted
educational cost reduction for non-educated parents. All three policies reduced
the effects of gender and birth order on inequality. Compulsory education
reduced overall average inequality, while targeted educational cost reduction
completely eliminated gender and birth order effects. This research underscores
the complex factors driving intra-household educational inequalities and
suggests effective policy measures.
