MEASURING EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITY AMONG NORTHEASTERN´S COUNTIES

ABSTRACT This study aims to analyze educational inequality in the Northeast Region of Brazil based on data from the 2010 Census. For this purpose, the Educational Gini Index (IGE) has been estimated for the portion of the economically active population aged 15 years and over residing in the 1793 municipalities of the Northeast. Analytical techniques included Spatial Data (ESDA) and Spatial Regression Analysis to detect the importance of a number of variables related to household, education and the economy of counties accounted for in the IGE. Results suggest that the state of Bahia shows the lowest educational inequality rates among all Northeast states, while Alagoas is the one with the highest inequality rate (0.467). As for the spatial analysis of educational inequality, spatial dependence has been detected regarding the municipalities and their neighbors. It has also been found that per capita income, net school attendance, IES presence and municipal per capita PIB contribute to the reduction of inequality. And the low impact of educational variables can be attributed to their long-term effect; as a result, investment and public policies directed to educational become really important, since they will only have an impact on the reduction of educational inequality among the municipalities in the long run.