Do Educational Expenditures Influence The Relative Gap Of Monetary Poverty Among Households In Benin?

This article analyzes the effect of educational expenditures on the relative monetary poverty gap of Beninese households, measured as the distance between their standard of living and the poverty line. Using a Fractional Regression Model (FRM) and robustness checks via a Generalized Linear Model (GLM), the study draws on data from the Harmonized Survey on Household Living Conditions (EHCVM 2022) to examine educational spending, as well as socioeconomic and cultural factors influencing the relative monetary poverty gap among households burdened by education costs. The results indicate that households’ education expenditures in private schools/universities or mixed institutions (both private and public), the ratio of enrolled children to household size, and economic shocks positively affect their relative monetary poverty gap. The challenge for policymakers is thus to strike a balance between mitigating the immediate financial burden of education on vulnerable households and ensuring broad, equitable access to education to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.