Determinants of education expenditures and importance of income: the case for Akdeniz University

Taking Akdeniz University as an example, this study investigates the factors determining the education spending and more specifically the importance of income. The main aim of this study is to examine the inequalities in education spending, educational preferences and income in terms of the individuals who have different status. A survey was employed to measure education spending and income inequality. The sample consists of people who have different status such as academic, administrative staff and worker. The findings gathered in the fieldwork are analysed by using EKK and Probit regression models. According to the results reached in this study, education level of families, their social status and their income level determine their educational preferences significantly. In another words, one can argue that there is a correlation between the factors such as education level, social status and income level and education spending and educational preferences. Those individuals who have higher education and income level can afford to spend a higher amount of money to increase the human capital of their children and benefit from private education facilities would lead to the reproduction of the current roles in social hierarchy. As a result it shows that when 1 % of increase in household income occurs, this leads to a 0.14 % of increase in total education spending of household. It also shows that workers have less opportunities to send their children to private schools than academics do. The study argues that education spending and income level are crucial to change status of next generations in our society.