Crossing Boundaries: Gender, Caste and Schooling in Rural Pakistan

The analysis
focuses on two social barriers: caste based stigma and female seclusion. Our
findings suggest that caste based stigma significantly dampens school enrollment
among low caste children, with low-caste girls, the most educationally
disadvantaged, being the worst affected. We show that a policy of providing
schools in low caste dominant settlements would boost enrollment relatively
cost-effectively.