Gender-Based Differences in Wage Distribution and Education in Nepal

Abstract

This paper analyzes the gender wage gap for regular and casual workers in Nepal using a data representing over 6,000 workers from the Nepal Living Standard Survey. Nepal is a country with one of the widest gender gaps worldwide and required to improve girls' education. In our analysis, we find a higher wage gap in regular employment for rural workers, though the gap decrease in casual employment. Our results show that the gap is attributed with discrimination effects. We also find that women in rural areas have difficulty finding regular work, meaning that most are engaged in casual work or unemployment. This indicates that women in rural areas, despite high education levels on par with men or women in urban area, suffer from both large wage discrimination and less opportunity for finding regular work. This may explain the lower incentive to give education among rural girls in Nepal.