The Push Towards UPE and the Determinants of the Demand for Education in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper uses household data to investigate the determinants of demand for education in Tanzania and test whether these have changed during the government's push for Universal Primary Education in the 2000s. We find that the abolition of school fees was followed by an overall increase in enrolment, yet the sustained importance of household's consumption, livelihood and education indicates that the socio-economic standing of the household remains an important source of educational inequality. We also include estimated returns to education as an explanatory factor but find no indications that returns determine demand in Tanzania.