Determinants of the demand for education in Spain

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to estimate an equation for household demand for both secondary and university education, using an estimation of the opportunity cost associated with the decision to invest in education. Limited dependent variable models are applied to the data provided by the Family Budget Survey 1991 for Spain. The results show that the social and economic status of the family has a comparatively greater impact on household expenditure on secondary education than on university education. The opportunity cost is also shown to be a decisive variable in the decision to invest in secondary education, although the results are less conclusive in the case of university education.

International Tourism, Higher Education and Economic Growth: The Case of North Cyprus

“…Stevens and Weale (2003) mention that living standards in most countries, and especially those in Europe, have risen over the last millennium due to developments in education. It is obvious that one of the most important factors that affect private demand for secondary or higher education is the household income level and the costs incurred by a family when it takes the decision to invest in education (Beneito et al., 2001). However, there are generally accepted social and economic factors affecting household demand for education such as the parents’ education, the geographical location of the place of residence, the size and composition of the family, the occupation of the primary earner and the family’s own consideration of its social status (Beneito et al., 2001).…”

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“…Another paper in Applied Economics also links household traits and education demand in Spain. Beneito et al (2001) estimate a household demand function for education and find that Spanish household characteristics influence the demand for secondary but not university education of children. They consider several measures of opportunity cost, including expected future income, and the income strata of the household, and find these to be significant determinants of education expenditure at the secondary school level.…”

The Impact of League Tables on University Application Rates

“…High entry grade requirements may themselves be taken as a quality indicator (the Veblen effect) so that the demand curve may be upwards sloping, particularly when applicants can hold insurance offers with lower requirements. Beneito et al. (2001) looked at the household demand for education in Spain, including university education, and conclude a negative association between opportunity costs and household expenditure on education.…”