Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/256778 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Paper No. 311
Publisher: 
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition, München und Berlin
Abstract: 
We show that the electorate's preferences for using tuition to finance higher education strongly depend on the design of the payment scheme. In representative surveys of the German electorate (N>18,000), experimentally replacing regular upfront by deferred income-contingent payments increases public support for tuition by 18 percentage points. The treatment turns a plurality opposed to tuition into a strong majority of 62 percent in favor. Additional experiments reveal that the treatment effect similarly shows when framed as loan repayments, when answers carry political consequences, and in a survey of adolescents. Reduced fairness concerns and improved student situations act as strong mediators.
Subjects: 
tuition
higher education finance
income-contingent loans
voting
JEL: 
H52
I22
D72
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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