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Does distance matter? Tuition Fees and Enrollment of First-Year Students at German Public Universities

Author

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  • Fischer, Georg-Benedikt
  • Bruckmeier, Kerstin
  • Wigger, Berthold U.

Abstract

We use the recent introduction of tuition fees at public universities in seven of the sixteen German states to identify the effects of tuition fees on university enrollment of first-year students at German public universities. Our study differs from previous research in two important ways. Firstly, we take into account the location of universities and include a spatial variable, which measures the distance between a fee-imposing university and the nearest fee-free alternative. Secondly, we use panel data that allows us to control for unobserved heterogeneity between universities. Our results suggest that enrollment at universities that impose a tuition fee and that are located close to fee-free universities experience a decrease in enrollment that is twice as large as the decrease at universities that are further away from fee-free universities. We also find gender differences in enrollment behavior. Enrollment numbers of female students at universities that are located far away from fee-free alternatives are significantly less affected by the introduction of tuition fees than are enrollment numbers of male students.

Suggested Citation

  • Fischer, Georg-Benedikt & Bruckmeier, Kerstin & Wigger, Berthold U., 2013. "Does distance matter? Tuition Fees and Enrollment of First-Year Students at German Public Universities," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79813, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc13:79813
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    Cited by:

    1. Kerstin Bruckmeier & Georg-Benedikt Fischer & Berthold U. Wigger, 2014. "The Downside Risk of Elevation," CESifo Working Paper Series 4950, CESifo.
    2. Michel Beine & Marco Delogu & Lionel Ragot, 2017. "Understanding the Impact of Tuition Fees in Foreign Education: the Case of the UK," Working Papers hal-04141620, HAL.
    3. Bruckmeier, Kerstin & Wigger, Berthold U., 2014. "The effects of tuition fees on transition from high school to university in Germany," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 14-23.
    4. Michel Beine & Marco Delogu & Lionel Ragot, 2020. "The role of fees in foreign education: evidence from Italy [Determinants of international student migration]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 571-600.
    5. Bruckmeier Kerstin & Fischer Georg-Benedikt & Wigger Berthold U., 2015. "Studiengebühren in Deutschland: Lehren aus einem gescheiterten Experiment," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 16(3), pages 289-301, October.
    6. Stephan Thomsen & Friederike von Haaren-Giebel, 2016. "Did tuition fees in Germany constrain students’ budgets? New evidence from a natural experiment," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-25, December.
    7. Tina Haussen & Silke Uebelmesser, 2016. "Student and graduate migration and its effect on the financing of higher education," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(6), pages 573-591, November.
    8. Michel Beine & Marco Delogu & Lionel Ragot, 2017. "The Role of Fees in Foreign Education: Evidence From Italy and the United Kingdom," Working Papers 2017-04, CEPII research center.
    9. Daniel Weimar & Markus Schauberger, 2018. "The impact of sporting success on student enrollment," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(6), pages 731-764, August.
    10. Neeraj Kaushal & Mauro Lanati, 2019. "International Student Mobility: Growth and Dispersion," NBER Working Papers 25921, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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