The Impact of Tuition Fees on Educational Inequality
This paper studies whether university tuition fees affect the intention to acquire a university degree among high school students and, if so, whether individuals from low-income households are affected in particular. We analyze the introduction and abolishment of tuition fees in Germany using data from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). We find a negative effect of tuition fees on the intention of 17-years-olds to acquire a university degree. The effect is mainly driven by individuals from low-income households. By analyzing register data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, we also show that tuition fees affect the actual number of university graduates more in communities with relatively high unemployment rates.