THE DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD EDUCATION EXPENDITURE IN GHANA

Abstract

The role of formal education in the socio-economic development of a country cannot be overemphasized. It is in this light, that over the years, governments of Ghana and other organizations have supported the education sector in many ways. Despite the efforts, many people think that a lot more can be done, but resources are not unlimited. Against this backdrop, it will be helpful if stakeholders are in the known as to what sections of the populace need urgent support. This is the primary motivation for this study. A logit model was estimated to find out the socio-economic determinants of a household’s probability of spending on education. The data used was the 2006/2007 Ghana Living Standards Survey Round Five (GLSS-V). We found that high education expenditure does not necessarily mean high probability of spending on education. Two categories of households with high probability of education expenditure were identified. The first category consists of households whose heads have formal education, households who own land, vehicles, and other durable assets, as well as households living in the forest belt. The second category includes: female-headed households; households with greater number of children of school going age; rural households; and households living farther away from the nation’s capital. Households in the second category are those that must be targeted for urgent support. Governments support in the form of capitation grant, free feeding and free supply of uniforms and stationery are in the right direction, but this must be stepped up in a sustainable manner.