Households’ Expenditures on Education: The Case of Female-Headed Households and Refugee Households in Rwanda.

Abstract

This study investigates the educational expenditure patterns among household heads in Rwanda, with a specific focus on female-headed households (FHHs) and households residing in refugee camps. To examine whether expenditure differences are driven by households’ economic situation, we used different operationalizations of educational expenditures across households in local and refugee communities. The multilevel analyses demonstrate that FHHs and refugee households are significantly less likely to spend money on education and to allocate a larger share of their expenditures to education than male-headed households (MHHs) and local households, respectively. The findings are interpreted in light of Rwanda’s education-fee free context, and reflections are made on the countries’ well-intentioned policies on women empowerment and the integration of protracted refugees. The implications of this research for future studies and policy directions are discussed.