Parental Preferences and Aspirations for Child Education, and Intra-household Resource Allocation : Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

This paper investigates the preference of parents for inter-child allocation of education investment in Ethiopia. It mainly focuses on the roles played by non-price factors of investment in child education. The study uses unique survey and experimental dataset disaggregated by individual children and parents. The findings of the study show that parents reinforce the educational achievements of their children. Educational investment does not vary by the gender of children. Instead, parental perceptions about the capability of children, and aspirations for child education are important drivers of intra-household allocation of educational investment. The study also finds that the preferences of mothers and fathers for child education are not identical but largely similar. The results highlight the considerable influence of non-cost factors in educational investment in developing countries. The results are robust to potential measurement error, and inclusion of community fixed effects