ERIC Number: EJ1233174
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0307-5079
EISSN: N/A
Social Origin and the Financial Feasibility of Going to University: The Role of Wage Penalties and Availability of Funding
Findlay, Jeanette; Hermannsson, Kristinn
Studies in Higher Education, v44 n11 p2025-2040 2019
The evidence on why students from lower social origin are persistently underrepresented in higher education (HE) suggests social, educational and economic factors all play a role. We concentrate on the influence of monetary costs/benefits and how these are influenced by social origin. In particular, we consider the effect of a class-based wage penalty in the labour market and, using evidence from a large-scale survey of Scottish students, we show how the greater financial constraints facing working-class students affects the incentive to participate in HE. Using a simple model of human capital investment, the low rate of working-class participation in HE is shown to be consistent with rational behaviour, i.e. weighing the monetary costs and benefits, participating in HE is a less attractive investment proposition for some students. We conduct simulations which suggest this could be mitigated by generous income-contingent support.
Descriptors: Student Costs, College Students, Working Class, Economic Factors, Socioeconomic Background, Foreign Countries, Human Capital, Cost Effectiveness, Access to Education, Higher Education, Wages, Education Work Relationship, Outcomes of Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Scotland)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A