Determinants of Education Indicators in Kyrgyzstan

The study aims to define various characteristics that affect the educational attainment of people living in Kyrgyzstan and to identify whether positive returns to education exist at a microeconomic level. The sample of interest includes residents aged 25 and above. The health condition, migrant status, proxies for household wealth, generation, ethnic belonging, and first language tend to impact the schooling years or acquisition of higher education. Both parent’s education level has a statistically significant positive impact on the educational attainment of their children. The magnitude of the impact increases with the education level of parents. The number of siblings is insignificant in terms of schooling years but has a statistically significant negative effect on getting higher education. Women have less schooling years but are more likely to get higher education in comparison to men. Among women, getting married at an early age is linked with fewer years of schooling. On the whole, there is a discrepancy in ‘rural versus urban’ and ‘capital versus regions’ pairings in terms of educational attainment of the Kyrgyz residents. It is empirically supported that positive returns to education exist in terms of employment and earnings. Taking into account benefits of education both for individuals and the country, public policies ought to focus on removing existing barriers and expand opportunities in getting education to all parts of the population throughout regions of the country. Keywords: educational attainment, returns to education, microeconomic analysis, developing countries, Kyrgyzstan