There are limited studies on household expenditure on higher education in India, and understanding the factors determining household investment in engineering education is almost absent. However, with the increasing presence of private sector, it is important to examine the changing pattern and determinants of household expenditure on higher education, which would help to formulate evidence-based policies in India. In this context, this article analyses the variability of household expenditure on engineering education and its relationship with socio-economic and institutional factors, using the data collected through a student survey in Odisha, an eastern state of India. We find that, on average, a household spends around 30 per cent of its annual income per child for an engineering degree. The study confirms the presence of a pro-male bias in household expenditure on engineering education, and interestingly, an additional preference is observed among poor households. Robust ordinary least squares (OLS) results show that students enrolled in private engineering colleges have spent significantly more than those enrolled in public-funded institutions. Contrary to the established literature, students belonging to lower socio-economic groups are shown to have spent more on non-fee items than forward social groups, though they have spent relatively less on fees.

在印度，有关家庭在高等教育方面的支出的研究有限，几乎不了解决定家庭对工程教育进行投资的因素。但是，随着私营部门的出现，重要的是要研究家庭高等教育支出模式的变化和决定因素，这将有助于制定印度的循证政策。在这种情况下，本文使用在印度东部州奥里萨邦进行的学生调查收集的数据，分析了工程教育家庭支出的变异性及其与社会经济和制度因素的关系。我们发现，平均而言，一个家庭将每个孩子的年收入的大约30％花费在获得工程学学位上。该研究证实，家庭在工程教育方面的支出存在男性偏见，而且有趣的是，在贫困家庭中还发现了另一种偏爱。稳健的普通最小二乘（OLS）结果表明，私立工程学院的入学人数比公立大学的入学人数明显多。与已有的文献相反，社会经济地位较低的学生在非费用项目上的花费比在前社会团体上的花费更多，尽管他们在学费上的花费相对较少。稳健的普通最小二乘（OLS）结果表明，私立工程学院的入学人数比公立大学的入学人数明显多。与已有的文献相反，社会经济地位较低的学生在非费用项目上的花费比在前社会团体上的花费更多，尽管他们在学费上的花费相对较少。稳健的普通最小二乘（OLS）结果表明，进入私立工程学院的学生的支出比进入公立大学的学生的支出多得多。与已有的文献相反，社会经济地位较低的学生在非费用项目上的花费比在前社会团体上的花费更多，尽管他们在学费上的花费相对较少。