Socio-Economic Gaps in University Enrollment: The Role of Perceived Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Returns

Teodora Boneva and Christopher Rauh

No 2017-080, Working Papers from Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group

Abstract: To understand the socio-economic enrollment gap in university attendance, we elicit students' beliefs about the benefits of university education in a sample of 2,540 secondary school students. Our choice model estimates reveal that perceived non-pecuniary benefits explain a large share of the variation in intentions to enroll. Expected job satisfaction, parental approval, and perceptions about social life during the 3-4 years after finishing secondary school are most important. Students with low socio-economic status perceive pecuniary and non-pecuniary returns to be lower. Beliefs explain 48% of the socio-economic gap in intentions to enroll, while perceived non-pecuniary returns alone account for 37%.

Keywords: higher education; beliefs; socio-economic inequality; intergenerational mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 I26 J13 J24 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-10
Note: ECI
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (43)

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Working Paper: Socio-Economic Gaps in University Enrollment: The Role of Perceived Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Returns (2017)
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