Family socio-economic profile and private spending on educational goods and services in Poland

• Main Authors: Magdalena Rokicka, Urszula Sztanderska
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych 2014-01-01
• Series: Edukacja
• Subjects: education economics; private educational expenditure; educational goods and services; financing of education; statistical analysis
• Online Access: http://www.edukacja.ibe.edu.pl/images/numery/2014/5-3-rokicka-sztanderska-family-profile-and-private-spending.pdf

According to theory, educational goods and services have an important impact on a child’s human capital. Although the majority of educational services in Poland are delivered within a public education system, various educational costs are borne by parents. This paper looks at the socio-economic determinants of private spending on education, including fees, private tutoring and courses, educational goods and materials, and the internet. The analysis was performed using the Polish Household Budget Survey for 2009 and 2010. Results from a logit regression suggest that disposable household income per capita and parental level of education, especially mother’s level of education have the greatest impact on spending on educational goods and services. This was true for all analysed categories of expenditure. Regional disparities and community size were an important factor especially with regards to spending on private tutoring and additional courses.