Private supplementary tutoring expenditures and children’s learning outcomes: Gender and locational evidence from Ghana

Many households in developing economies seek to address poor learning outcomes by investing in private supplementary tutoring (PST). We examined the effects of PST expenditures on learning outcomes and possible heterogeneous effects related to the child's gender and locality. We use instrumental variable, propensity score matching, and the Lewbel procedures, and a sample of 2095 households from the 7th Ghana Living Standard Survey. We establish that when families invested in PST at the basic school level, their children's ability to read, write, and do written calculations improved significantly. PST expenditures benefitted boys and children residing in rural areas more than girls and those living in urban areas. PST may be useful for improving learning outcomes, especially for children struggling academically, but any policy integration should be done tactfully to avoid exacerbating existing economically-induced educational inequalities.