Factors Affecting Household Expenditures on Education: A Heckman Sample Selection Application for Turkey

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 an individual's initial 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, the expenses for the education of households in Turkey were discussed, and the effect of socio-demographic and economic factors on these expenditures was examined. For this purpose, the data set obtained from the 2019 Household Budget Survey published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) was analyzed with the Heckman sample selection model. According to the analysis results, the fact that the head of the household is male in a family, his age, and being married had a negative effect on education expenditures. Education expenses were positively affected by household income, population, the number of technological devices, and the employment of the head of the family. In addition, the structure of the household, the presence of individuals who smoke, go to the cinema, and do sports also affected household education expenditures.