This paper investigate regional and gender differences in the determinants of demand for
schooling (enrollment and grade attainment) in Kenya. Probit and ordered probit regression
methods are used to model enrollment and attainment respectively. The paper investigates
the impact of child and household characteristics, household welfare indicators and
community variables. We find that household characteristics, quality and cost of schooling
are important determinants of demand for education services in Kenya. Our results further
suggest that there are regional and gender differences in responsiveness of demand for
schooling. Specifically, demand in rural areas is more responsive to policy changes than in
urban areas, while girls would be more affected by policy changes than boys. The findings
call for regional targeting in efforts to boost and sustain demand for schooling in Kenya. In
rural areas, the immediate policy action should focus on improving quality of education,
while in urban areas; poverty and cost of schooling are critical concerns. For the country as a
whole, poverty alleviation would go along way in boosting education demand as the poorest
groups are found to be more responsive to changes in the cost of educati