Expenditure differences of university degree holders across occupational sectors in Malaysia

This study was motivated by the key role university degree holders play in Malaysia's vision for the future and by concerns expressed about the drift of university degree holders from one sector to another. A questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 400 Malaysian families that had at least one member who held a university degree. The objective was to elicit details of the household economic situation of respondents, with special reference to the differences in expenditure patterns between families whose degree holder worked in higher education, government, or the private sector. Results of tobit analysis of expenditures show that there are some differences between the sectors regarding expenditure patterns, but the differences are not as great as expected. Nevertheless, university-educated persons in the private sector seem to have somewhat different expenditure patterns than their counterparts in other sectors.