Parental Attitudes and Demand for Schooling in Ethiopia

Parental attitudes towards education may determine a child's enrolment and years of formal education completed. To the extent that attitudes are measurable and important, they should explain household demand for schooling absent constraints. This study attempted to measure attitudes, explain their formation and investigate the role of attitudes in the allocation of human capital. Parental attitudes towards schooling were found generally to be favourable, and differences in attitudes helped explain household enrolment decisions. However, attitudes alone cannot account for low enrolment in rural Ethiopia. High direct and opportunity costs of schooling also limit school participation in the face of credit constraints. Copyright 2011 The author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.