Determinants of Household Education Expenditure in Uganda: Do the Poor Spend More on Education than the Rich?

Abstract

This study estimates the Tobit and IV Tobit models using data from the UgandaNational Household Survey (UNHS) 2019/20 to analyse factors that influencehousehold education spending, and examine the impact of different income groups oneducation spending in Uganda. The findings show a positive relationship betweenhousehold income on the one hand; and the level of education of the head of household,household size, urban residence, female-headed household and education spending onthe other. Furthermore, higher-income households are found to have a high-incomeelasticity of demand than low-income households. An increase in total household incomefor high-income quintile households is found to increase educational expenditures by apercentage point than for low-income quintile households. Due to this disparity, thegovernment is advised to revise its cost-sharing approach to public education spending,which needs to be supplemented by household education spending.JEL Classification: D1, I21, I22, I24, C24, R20