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

• Paper: Household Education Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from Income and Expenditure Surveys
• Authors: Santiago Acerenza (Universidad ORT Uruguay) and Néstor Gandelman (Universidad ORT Uruguay)
• Speaker: Santiago Acerenza
• Event: 8th NIP Conference 2016 – LACEA Network on Inequality and Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Location: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration – UDELAR, Montevideo, Uruguay
• Date: October 5, 2016

In this paper, using income and expenditure surveys for 12 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, we present "stylized facts" about household spending on education.

In addition, the income elasticity of educational spending is estimated, revealing that it is a luxury for most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

There are also differences in the distribution of education spending between male and female household members, with female members receiving a larger share. This difference is most pronounced among older age groups.