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Household Education Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from Income and Expenditure Surveys

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  • Acerenza, Santiago
  • Gandelman, Néstor

Abstract

This paper characterizes household spending in education using microdata from income and expenditure surveys for 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries and the United States. Bahamas, Chile and Mexico have the highest household spending in education while Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay have the lowest. Tertiary education is the most important form of spending, and most educational spending is performed for individuals 18-23 years old. More educated and richer household heads spend more in the education of household members. Households with both parents present and those with a female main income provider spend more than their counterparts. Urban households also spend more than rural households. On average, education in Latin America and the Caribbean is a luxury good, while it may be a necessity in the United States. No gender bias is found in primary education, but households invest more in females of secondary age and up than same-age males.

Suggested Citation

  • Acerenza, Santiago & Gandelman, Néstor, 2017. "Household Education Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from Income and Expenditure Surveys," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8212, Inter-American Development Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:8212
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    2. Sergio Urzua, 2019. "Redistribution Through Education: The Value of Public Education Spending," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 88, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    3. Nestor Gandelman & Tomás Serebrisky & Ancor Suárez-Alemán, 2018. "Household spending on transport in Latin America and the Caribbean: understanding transport expenditure patterns," Documentos de Investigación 115, Universidad ORT Uruguay. Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales.
    4. Pessino, Carola & Izquierdo, Alejandro & Vuletin, Guillermo, 2018. "Better Spending for Better Lives: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Do More with Less," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 9152, March.
    5. Evans, David K. & Gale, Charles & Kosec, Katrina, 2023. "The educational impacts of cash transfers in Tanzania," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    6. Asmat Ullah & Saba Shaukat & Bilal Tariq, 2022. "Household Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Out of Pocket Educational Expenditure in Pakistan," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(4), pages 1-7, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Household Income; Household Education Spending; Household Expenditure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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