The Demand for Post-Compulsory Education in the UK and the Effects of Educational Maintenance Allowances

Abstract

In this paper, the author develops a model of investment in postcompulsory schoolin g based on human-capital theory. The model is estimated using data on a sample of sixteen and seventeen year olds derived from the Family Expenditure Survey. The results reveal significant differences in the factors influencing enrollment in postcompulsory education between m ales and females. Mot notably, household income is an important deter minant of educational participation for females, but not for their ma le counterparts. On the basis of these results, the author assesses t he effects of the introduction of educational maintenance allowances on participation rates in the United Kingdom.