Public / private funding of higher education: a social balance

The aim of this project was to provide reliable data and information on the real and effective distribution of (teaching-related) costs of higher education. The shares of public and private costs were calculated for students of different socio-economic origin, reflecting social disparity and social exclusion. Thus, a twofold task was achieved: On the one hand, a comparison between countries on macroeconomic level has taken place to explore the sharing of the costs of higher education provision between the state and the households. On the other hand, a comparison of cost-sharing at microeconomic level has been carried out, which focuses on possibly different balances of cost-sharing according to a student’s socio-economic background even within one country.
This link between establishing the real and full monetary value of all direct and indirect public and private contributions in cash and in kind and relating this cost-sharing ratio to a student’s socio-economic background (thus allowing for considerations on participation) is new and unique about this project.