Earnings Information and Public Preferences for University Tuition: Evidence from Representative Experiments

Philipp Lergetporer () and Ludger Woessmann
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Philipp Lergetporer: Technical University of Munich

No 14386, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Higher education finance depends on the public's preferences for charging tuition, which may be partly based on beliefs about the university earnings premium. To test whether public support for tuition depends on earnings information, we devise survey experiments in representative samples of the German electorate (N>15,000). The electorate is divided, with a plurality opposing tuition. Providing information on the university earnings premium raises support for tuition by 7 percentage points, turning the plurality in favor. The opposition-reducing effect persists two weeks after treatment. Information on fiscal costs and unequal access does not affect public preferences. We subject the baseline result to various experimental tests of replicability, robustness, heterogeneity, and consequentiality.

Keywords: public opinion; earnings premium; information; higher education; tuition; voting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D83 H52 I22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2021-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Journal of Public Economics , 2023, 226, 104968

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Journal Article: Earnings information and public preferences for university tuition: Evidence from representative experiments (2023)
Working Paper: Earnings Information and Public Preferences for University Tuition: Evidence from Representative Experiments (2021)
Working Paper: Earnings Information and Public Preferences for University Tuition: Evidence from Representative Experiments (2021)
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