Factors Affecting Household Expenditures on Education: A Tobit Model Application for Turkey

Abstract

Education is undoubtedly one of the most important elements for the development levels of countries and societies. It is also one of the essential requirements in today's world. Education is a key element of individual starting and later social development, therefore development across countries. Today, in most developed countries, the state spends a large amount of fund for education. Households, as well as governments, spend a lot on education. In this study, their expenses for the education of households in Turkey are discussed, and the effect of socio-demographic and economic factors of these expenditures are examined. For this purpose, the data set obtained from the 2019 Household Budget Survey published by TURKSTAT is analyzed with the Tobit Model. According to the analysis results, the fact that the head of the household is male in a family, and his age has a negative effect on education expenditures. In addition, in contrast to the literature, variables that may indirectly affect household education expenditures, such as the structure of the household, the presence of individuals who smoke, read magazines, go to the movies, and play sports, have been added to the model.