Understanding the Relationship between Education and Poverty Risk from a Gender Perspective: Case of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The research paper explores the relationship between household heads' education level and the risk of being poor in Kazakhstan from a gender perspective. The first research question investigates if the relationship between education and poverty risk is different for male heads and female heads. From quantitative analysis, we found out that the coefficient of interaction term of gender and education showed that education had less effect on reducing poverty for female household heads compared to male household heads. The quantitative study uses a logistic regression model using data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2015 conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan in collaboration with UNICEF. It was decided to explore this topic further by applying mixed methods as quantitative analysis results contradict the existing literature about the feminization of poverty and hardships among female heads. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with female heads of different educational backgrounds were conducted to gather qualitative data. The interview focused on the decision-making process of female heads and their educational background. Interview results showed that there is no significant difference between female household heads with tertiary education and female household heads with vocational or high school education in regards to financial decisionmaking. Economic well-being of respondents was connected to their household composition, employment status of household members and saving behavior. One of the main findings of interview results demonstrated the negative effect of maternity leave on employment and financial security of respondents. Interview results imply that if education is not applied for generating income for a long time, it will lead to the need for repeatedly obtaining education in order to return back to their career. Policy recommendations were provided based results of the research.