Who supports tuition fees? : how information provision and policy design shapes public preferences for higher education financing

Abstract

The analysis of public support for tuition fees has received little attention so far in the growing literature on the political economy of higher education and redistribution. This paper addresses this research gap, using novel survey data for the German resident population (N= 6208). Using a survey experiment, this study finds evidence that providing respondents with information about existing inequalities in the access to and financing of higher education increases support for tuition fees. We also find higher support levels for tuition fee models with deferred payment options or income-contingent fee levels compared to the generic flat-rate fee model. Finally, the paper finds evidence that individual partisan ideology matters, both for general support for tuition fees as well as with regard to how partisanship moderates the impact of information provision.