Educational attainment and earnings inequality in Cameroon: A quantile regression analysis of heterogeneous returns

Oluyele Akinkugbe (), Sandotin Coulibaly (), Ouei Diakite (), Mamadou Coulibaly () and Eugene Kouassi ()
Additional contact information
Oluyele Akinkugbe: James Hope University, Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
Sandotin Coulibaly: University Felix Houphouet Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Ouei Diakite: Universite Peloforo Gon Coulibaly
Mamadou Coulibaly: Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS), Abidjan, Cote d' Ivoire
Eugene Kouassi: University Felix Houphouet Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Economics Bulletin, 2026, vol. 46, issue 1, 152 - 167

Abstract: This paper analyzes education's heterogeneous returns across Cameroon's earnings distribution using quantile regression (2007-2014 household surveys). Key findings reveal: (1) Urban-rural divergence with tertiary education yielding 74% higher returns for rural women at the 90th decile (? = 2.26) versus urban counterparts; (2) Primary education's equalizing effects in urban areas (? = 0.51 for women) but disequalizing impacts in rural upper deciles (? = -1.03 for men); (3) Secondary education's collapsing returns below the 40th rural decile. The results demand spatial-precision policymaking under Vision 2035: geographic mobility corridors to connect high-return rural earners with urban opportunities; tertiary access pacts targeting rural women's demonstrated 90th-decile potential; and gender-responsive vocational tracks to revive secondary education's middle-decile value. Contrary to linear human capital models, we demonstrate how education's inequality impacts are fundamentally reconfigured through three intersecting channels: decile-specific returns, spatial premiums, and gender-mediated valuation. These findings provide an actionable roadmap for converting education from an inequality accelerator to an equitable development catalyst in segmented African labor markets.

Keywords: Returns to education; Earnings inequality; Quantile regression; Spatial labor markets; Gender wage gap; Cameroon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 J3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03-30
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2026/Volume46/EB-26-V46-I1-P14.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-25-00426

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Economics Bulletin from AccessEcon
Bibliographic data for series maintained by John P. Conley ().