BOOK READING AND SOCIAL STATUS IN TURKEY

Abstract

This paper analyzes book reading and purchasing behaviors as a leisure time activity in Turkey with respect to socio-economic and demographic characteristics of households. The study used the raw data of “Household Budget Survey” questionnaires conducted with 17,310 households by the Turkish Statistical Institute in 2005 and 2006.Eleven percent of the respondents declared reading and purchasing books as a leisure time activity. The most statistically significant factors in book expenditures, in order of significance, are income, postgraduate, college education and gender. In order of importance, income level is the most, education is the second and gender variable is the third most important determinant of leisure time book reading and purchasing. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.17.2.2190