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.