Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T07:17:32.643Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Redistributive Effects of British Subsidies to Higher Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2014

Elizabeth Mishkin  and
John Straub
Elizabeth Mishkin
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Harvard University E-mail: emishkin@fas.harvard.edu
John Straub
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Maryland E-mail: straub@econ.umd.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines the distribution of net benefits from subsidies to higher education in the United Kingdom, focusing on the system in place in the mid-1990s. We find the distribution to be regressive with respect to graduate income, with high lifetime earners receiving large net subsidies, while low lifetime earners are net contributors to the system. Our findings are of particular relevance to policymakers in the UK in light of the ongoing debate over tuition fees. However, these results should also be of interest to anyone who studies the socioeconomic implications of higher education.

Keywords

Higher educationsubsidiesUnited Kingdomredistribution
Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , July 2014 , pp. 337 - 355
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barr, N. and Falkingham, J. (1993) Paying for Learning, London: Suntory-Toyota International Centre for Economics and Related Disciplines.Google Scholar
Barro, R. (1989) ‘The Ricardian approach to budget deficits’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3, 2, 37–54.Google Scholar
Blaug, M. (1987) ‘The distributional effects of higher education subsidies’, in Blaug, M., The Economics of Education and the Education of an Economist, New York: New York University Press, pp. 204–26.Google Scholar
Callender, C. (2006) ‘Access to higher education in Britain: the impact of tuition fees and financial assistance’, in Texeira, P. (ed.), Cost-Sharing and Accessibility in Higher Education: A Fairer Deal?, Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 105–32.Google Scholar
Cameron, S. and Heckman, J. (2001) ‘The dynamics of educational attainment for black, Hispanic, and white males’, Journal of Political Economy, 109, 3, 455–99.Google Scholar
Chowdry, H., Dearden, L., Goodman, A. and Jin, W. (2012) ‘The distributional impact of the 2012–13 higher education funding reforms in England’, Fiscal Studies, 33, 2, 211–36.Google Scholar
Corver, M. (2010) Trends in Young Participation in Higher Education: Core Results for England, Bristol: Higher Education Funding Council for England.Google Scholar
Dearden, L., Fitzsimons, E., Goodman, A. and Kaplan, G. (2008) ‘Higher education funding reforms in England: the distributional effects and the shifting balance of costs’, The Economic Journal, 118, 526, F100–25.Google Scholar
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2012) Purpose of the Simplified Loan Repayment Model (Beta Version, August 2012), London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.Google Scholar
Gruber, J. (2010) Public Finance and Public Policy, New York: Worth.Google Scholar
Hansen, W. and Weisbrod, B. (1969) ‘The distribution of costs and direct benefits of public higher education: the case of California’, The Journal of Human Resources, 4, 2, 76–191.Google Scholar
Harris, T. (1999) ‘The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 1997–98’, Economic Trends, 545, 27–63.Google Scholar
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (1999) Performance Indicators in Higher Education, Bristol: Higher Education Funding Council for England.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1996a) Resources of Higher Education Institutions 1994/95, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1996b) Students in Higher Education Institutions 1994/95, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1997a) Resources of Higher Education Institutions 1995/96, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1997b) Students in Higher Education Institutions 1995/96, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1997c) Higher Education Statistics for the UK, 1995/96, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1998a) Resources of Higher Education Institutions 1996/97, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1998b) Students in Higher Education Institutions 1996/97, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1999a) Resources of Higher Education Institutions 1997/98, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (1999b) Students in Higher Education Institutions 1997/98, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (2001) Higher Education Statistics for the UK, 1999/2000, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (2002) Higher Education Statistics for the UK, 2000/2001, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (2007) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Institutions: Longitudinal Survey of the 2002/03 Cohort, Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency.Google Scholar
HM Treasury (2011) The Green Book, London: HM Treasury.Google Scholar
Johnson, W. (2006) ‘Are public subsidies to higher education regressive?’, Education Finance and Policy, 1, 3, 288–315.Google Scholar
King, R., Findlay, A. and Ahrens, J. (2010) International Student Mobility Literature Review, Bristol: Higher Education Funding Council for England.Google Scholar
Murphy, K. and Welch, F. (1990) ‘Empirical age–earnings profiles’, Journal of Labor Economics, 8, 2, 202–29.Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (1995) ‘The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 1994/95’, Economic Trends, 506, 21–59.Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (1997) ‘The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 1995–96’, Economic Trends, 520, 26–59.Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (1998) ‘The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 1996–97’, Economic Trends, 533, 33–67.Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2009) Quarterly Labour Force Survey, July–September 2007, SN 5763, 3rd edn, Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive.Google Scholar
Pechman, J. (1970) ‘The distributional effects of public higher education in California’, The Journal of Human Resources, 5, 3, 361–70.Google Scholar
Robinson, H. (2003) ‘Are you experienced? British evidence on age–earnings profiles’, Applied Economics, 35, 9, 1101–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Student Loans Company (2008) Deferring Your Fixed Term Loan, Glasgow: Student Loans Company, http://www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk (3 October 2008).Google Scholar
Thompson, J. and Bekhradnia, B. (2010) The Government's Proposals for Higher Education Funding and Student Finance – An Analysis, Oxford: Higher Education Policy Institute.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. and Bekhradnia, B. (2012) The Cost of the Government's Reforms of the Financing of Higher Education, Oxford: Higher Education Policy Institute.Google Scholar
UCAS (2013) Demand for Full-Time Undergraduate Higher Education in 2013, Cheltenham: UCAS, http://www.ucas.com/news-events/news/2013/demand-full-time-undergraduate-higher-education-2013 (accessed 25 July 2013).Google Scholar