Paying for education among households in Ghana

Abdul Malik Iddrisu, Michael Danquah and Peter Quartey ()

International Journal of Development Issues, 2017, vol. 16, issue 2, 214-226

Abstract: Purpose - Using data from the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, this paper aims to take a critical look at issues relating to the demand for education in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach - In doing this, the paper develops a model for the determinants of household’s educational expenditure using the full sample of data and an income-quintile disaggregated model of the determinants of household’s educational expenditures. The study adopts robust empirical estimation techniques to estimate the model. Findings - The paper finds that household resources importantly influence children’s educational expenditures with wealthier households spending proportionately more in educating their children than poorer households; large-sized households spend more in terms of educational expenses than small-sized households reflecting largely the quantity of education purchased, given that quality and contextual factors matters for educational investments. Strikingly, the findings show that female headship is a significant positive predictor of households’ demand for education. These findings provide valuable policy options relating to the goal of ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting a lifelong learning by 2030. Originality/value - While literature on the determinants of households’ educational expenditures abound, very few of this literature focuses on sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, this study makes an important contribution to the literature by providing evidence on the determinants of households’ educational expenditure in the context of sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: Ghana; Human capital; Educational expenditures; Household demand; Sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijdipp:ijdi-02-2017-0017

DOI: 10.1108/IJDI-02-2017-0017

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