IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp8364.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Effect of Tuition Fees on University Applications and Attendance: Evidence from the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Sa, Filipa

    (King's College London)

Abstract

This article uses variation in university tuition fees over time and across countries in the UK to examine the effect of fees on university applications and attendance. It focuses on two policy changes: the removal of upfront tuition fees in Scotland in 2001 and the increase in fees in England in 2012. It finds that applications decrease in response to higher fees, especially for courses with lower salaries and lower employment rates after graduation. Attendance also falls in response to higher fees, but there is no evidence of a larger reduction for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Suggested Citation

  • Sa, Filipa, 2014. "The Effect of Tuition Fees on University Applications and Attendance: Evidence from the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 8364, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8364
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp8364.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pietro Garibaldi & Francesco Giavazzi & Andrea Ichino & Enrico Rettore, 2012. "College Cost and Time to Complete a Degree: Evidence from Tuition Discontinuities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(3), pages 699-711, August.
    2. repec:mpr:mprres:3250 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Susan M. Dynarski, 2003. "Does Aid Matter? Measuring the Effect of Student Aid on College Attendance and Completion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 279-288, March.
    4. Lorraine Dearden & Emla Fitzsimons & Gill Wyness, 2011. "The impact of tuition fees and support on university participation in the UK," IFS Working Papers W11/17, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    5. Chevalier, Arnaud, 2011. "Subject choice and earnings of UK graduates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1187-1201.
    6. Neil S. Seftor & NSarah E. Turner, 2002. "Back to School: Federal Student Aid Policy and Adult College Enrollment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(2), pages 336-352.
    7. Thomas J. Kane, 1995. "Rising Public College Tuition and College Entry: How Well Do Public Subsidies Promote Access to College?," NBER Working Papers 5164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Jacob Mincer, 1958. "Investment in Human Capital and Personal Income Distribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(4), pages 281-281.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richard Murphy & Gill Wyness, 2023. "Testing Means-Tested Aid," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(3), pages 687-727.
    2. David Deming & Susan Dynarski, 2009. "Into College, Out of Poverty? Policies to Increase the Postsecondary Attainment of the Poor," NBER Working Papers 15387, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Charles T. Clotfelter & Steven W. Hemelt & Helen F. Ladd, 2018. "Multifaceted Aid For Low‐Income Students And College Outcomes: Evidence From North Carolina," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 278-303, January.
    4. Gill Wyness, 2020. "Is higher education still worth the cost?," CEPEO Briefing Note Series 9, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Nov 2020.
    5. Dearden, Lorraine & Fitzsimons, Emla & Wyness, Gill, 2014. "Money for nothing: Estimating the impact of student aid on participation in higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 66-78.
    6. Dynarski, Susan M. & Scott–Clayton, Judith E., 2006. "The Cost of Complexity in Federal Student Aid: Lessons From Optimal Tax Theory and Behavioral Economics," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 59(2), pages 319-356, June.
    7. Bietenbeck, Jan & Leibing, Andreas & Marcus, Jan & Weinhardt, Felix, 2023. "Tuition fees and educational attainment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. José Montalbán, 2023. "Countering Moral Hazard in Higher Education: The Role of Performance Incentives in Need-Based Grants," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(649), pages 355-389.
    9. Helena Skyt Nielsen & Torben Sørensen & Christopher Taber, 2010. "Estimating the Effect of Student Aid on College Enrollment: Evidence from a Government Grant Policy Reform," NBER Chapters, in: Income Taxation, Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar (TAPES), pages 185-215, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Lorraine Dearden & Emla Fitzsimons & Gill Wyness, 2011. "The Impact of Tuition Fees and Support on University Participation in the UK," CEE Discussion Papers 0126, Centre for the Economics of Education, LSE.
    11. Brigitte C. Madrian, 2014. "Applying Insights from Behavioral Economics to Policy Design," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 663-688, August.
    12. Gabrielle Fack & Julien Grenet, 2015. "Improving College Access and Success for Low-Income Students: Evidence from a Large Need-Based Grant Program," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 1-34, April.
    13. José Montalbán, 2019. "Countering moral hazard in higher education: The role of performance incentives in need-based grants," PSE Working Papers halshs-02160365, HAL.
    14. Susan M. Dynarski, 2003. "Does Aid Matter? Measuring the Effect of Student Aid on College Attendance and Completion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 279-288, March.
    15. Anderson, Drew M., 2020. "When financial aid is scarce: The challenge of allocating college aid where it is needed most," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    16. Eric Bettinger, 2004. "How Financial Aid Affects Persistence," NBER Chapters, in: College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go, and How to Pay For It, pages 207-238, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Lovenheim, Michael F. & Owens, Emily G., 2014. "Does federal financial aid affect college enrollment? Evidence from drug offenders and the Higher Education Act of 1998," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1-13.
    18. Aimee Chin & Chinhui Juhn, 2010. "Does Reducing College Costs Improve Educational Outcomes for Undocumented Immigrants? Evidence from State Laws Permitting Undocumented Immigrants to Pay In-state Tuition at State Colleges and Universi," NBER Working Papers 15932, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Chaitali Sinha, 2014. "Human Capital and Public Policy," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 3(1), pages 79-125, June.
    20. Susan M. Dynarski & Judith E. Scott-Clayton, 2008. "Complexity and Targeting in Federal Student Aid: A Quantitative Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 22, pages 109-150, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    university applications; tuition fees; university attendance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8364. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.