Health Insurance Penetration and Its Impact on Access to Healthcare in Developing Countries
1.Introduction 1.1 Understanding Relative Income in Economic Decision Making Relative income, as opposed to absolute income, refers to an individual or household’s economic position in comparison to others within their society or social reference group. James Duesenberry formulated the Relative Income Hypothesis (1949), which emphasized that individuals derive utility not only from their income but also from how that income compares to the income of others. In the school- and education-related context, this means that the decision regarding school type (public vs. private), tutoring, and other learning resources is dependent not only on the economic circumstances of the household but also on social norms and competitive pressures. Relative income shapes educational expenditures in both up and downward directions. Frank (2007) argues that families are often pushed to spend on visible status goods by perceived social comparisons, with education being one of the most important ones. In a study by the Pew Research Center (2020), 62% of parents from urban areas in India reported “keeping up with peers” as a major consideration while spending on private tuitions and elite educational systems.This shows the non-linearity of educational investments: families will make a priority not due to their expectations of educational attainment, but because their sense of relative deprivation. 1.2 Link between Income and Educational Choices Statistical evidence from across the world and from Indian studies points toward strong concurrence between the income level of the household and the access to education. A significant proportion of high-income families can afford private schooling, extra tutoring, digital resources, and extracurriculars, all of which combine to enhance educational attainment. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21), the net attendance ratio for secondary education in India in the richest quintile is 71 percent, while in the poorest quintile, it is only 41 percent. According to UNESCO (2022), drop-out rates before completion of primary education are four times higher for children from bottom 20% income households than for those from the top 20%. Moreover, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 further indicates that the higher-income households consistently perform better than their peers in foundational numeracy and literacy, suggesting that income determines not only access but quality and outcomes too. 1.3 Income Tax Policies as a Determinant of Educational Investment Income tax policy is one of the most important tools through which wealth can be redistributed in an economy. The way such tax policies are structured at a given time can either alleviate or exacerbate economic inequality. For instance, progressive taxation whereby wealthier earners pay higher taxes in proportion to their income is almost invariably associated with greater redistribution and greater public services, education among them. Regressive taxation, or systems with very few tax brackets and fewer redistributive mechanisms, on the contrary, tend to increase inequality and limit the potential for public investment. Countries with more progressive taxes and more public education expenditure, such as Finland, Sweden, and Norway, are also among the best-performing and highly unequal societies in the world, according to the OECD (2023). The tax-to-GDP ratio of India, which hovers around 11.4% (2022-23), is far below that of the OECD average of 34%. Public expenditure on education is still much lower than the world average at 2.9%, notwithstanding the Kothari recommendation of at least 3% of GDP. Such low fiscal space means relatively poorer access to investment in quality schooling particularly in resource-poor rural and peri-urban areas. Further, amendments in income tax laws, such as increased deductions for education loans under Section 80E or the introduction of the new tax regime in 2020, have introduced differential effects on households and have sometimes acted as incentives while at other times tended to act as deterrence on private educational investment. 2.Objectives The link between tax policies and education has increasingly gained currency among economists, policy-makers, and social scientists. This study seeks to assess how changes in the system of taxation, especially income taxation, affect household decisions about children’s education. The objectives are designed to look into direct economic effects and indirect socio-psychological effects concerning income inequality triggered by taxation. To analyze the impact of income tax reforms on household income and child education outcomes. Income tax legislation directly affects households’ disposable income. Governments utilize progressive tax structures, tax rebates, deductions for education, and conditional cash transfers to increase or decrease private investment in education. Regressive tax structures, on the other hand, put a heavier burden on poorer households, making them less able to invest in education. The focus of the goal is to look into how historical changes in income taxation policies have resulted in measurable differences in educational enrollment ratios, quality of education, and dropout rates across different segments of income. To analyze the role of income disparity in shaping aspiration for and access to quality schooling beyond absolute income, relative income- how well off a household is vis-a-vis all others within its reference group- can also influence attitudes regarding education. Children from poorer families might have lowered expectation and low motivation or feel stressed by trenchant socio-economic contrasts within school settings. Conversely, families feeling such pressure to “keep up” might invest heavily into education at the expense of basic necessities. This goal examines how such disparities, often exacerbated by uneven tax burdens and limited redistribution, shape aspirations and ultimately cascade down into education pathways. Theoretical Framework 2.1 Human Capital Theory First conceived by Theodore Schultz in the year 1961 and later amplified by Gary Becker in the year 1964, the Human Capital Theory describes education as a form of investment, just like physical capital, which gives back dividends in the form of increased productivity, better employment alternatives, and much more enhanced overall economic growth; according to the theory, households and individuals behave rationally in cozying up or letting go from investing their resources into education according to analysis of costs (tuition materials, opportunity cost of time) vis—vis expected returns-future income, job security, among others. According to this framework, household income becomes a significant determinant of the ability
