IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v72y2021icp176-185.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The (In)effectiveness of regulatory policies in higher education—The case of access policy in Portugal

Author

Listed:
  • Biscaia, Ricardo
  • Sá, Carla
  • Teixeira, Pedro N.

Abstract

In recent years there has been a tendency to deregulate higher education systems, allowing them to follow the interplay of the supply and demand forces instead of shaping it through strong government regulation. One of the areas where these regulatory changes may have a more significant impact is that of access policies. In this article, we analyse a policy change in Portugal aimed at steering students’ behaviour and promoting greater institutional and geographical dispersion. This study discusses the effectiveness of this approach, namely by comparing its actual results with a simulation of what would have happened if there were no changes in the access system. We discuss to what extent the policy has had the impact it was expected or if students have reacted in a way that has undermined the intended policy objectives and draw some conclusions about the complexities of regulating students’ demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Biscaia, Ricardo & Sá, Carla & Teixeira, Pedro N., 2021. "The (In)effectiveness of regulatory policies in higher education—The case of access policy in Portugal," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 176-185.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:72:y:2021:i:c:p:176-185
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2021.08.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592621001119
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2021.08.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Petri Böckerman & Mika Haapanen, 2013. "The effect of polytechnic reform on migration," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 593-617, April.
    2. Haroon Chowdry & Claire Crawford & Lorraine Dearden & Alissa Goodman & Anna Vignoles, 2013. "Widening participation in higher education: analysis using linked administrative data," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 176(2), pages 431-457, February.
    3. Jo Blanden & Stephen Machin, 2013. "Educational Inequality and The Expansion of UK Higher Education," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(5), pages 578-596, November.
    4. Parag A. Pathak, 2011. "The Mechanism Design Approach to Student Assignment," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 513-536, September.
    5. Terry Long, B.Bridget, 2004. "How have college decisions changed over time? An application of the conditional logistic choice model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 271-296.
    6. Diogo Lourenço & Carla Sá & Orlanda Tavares & Sónia Cardoso, 2020. "Enrolling in Higher Education: The Impact of Regional Mobility and Public-Private Substitution Effects," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(1), pages 183-197, January.
    7. Stacy B. Dale & Alan B. Krueger, 2014. "Estimating the Effects of College Characteristics over the Career Using Administrative Earnings Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(2), pages 323-358.
    8. Chevalier, Arnaud, 2011. "Subject choice and earnings of UK graduates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1187-1201.
    9. Eleanor Wiske Dillon & Jeffrey Andrew Smith, 2017. "Determinants of the Match between Student Ability and College Quality," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 45-66.
    10. Smith, Jeremy & Naylor, Robin, 2005. "Schooling effects on subsequent university performance: evidence for the UK university population," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 549-562, October.
    11. John Cullinan & Darragh Flannery & Sharon Walsh & Selina Mccoy, 2013. "Distance Effects, Social Class and the Decision to Participate in Higher Education in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 44(1), pages 19-51.
    12. Kelly, Elish & O'Connell, Philip J. & Smyth, Emer, 2010. "The economic returns to field of study and competencies among higher education graduates in Ireland," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 650-657, August.
    13. Ilias Livanos & Konstantinos Pouliakas, 2011. "Wage returns to university disciplines in Greece: are Greek higher education degrees Trojan Horses?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 411-445, December.
    14. Julia Varga, 2006. "The Role of Labour Market Expectations and Admission Probabilities in Students' Application Decisions on Higher Education: The Case of Hungary," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 309-327.
    15. W. Bentley MacLeod & Evan Riehl & Juan E. Saavedra & Miguel Urquiola, 2017. "The Big Sort: College Reputation and Labor Market Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 223-261, July.
    16. P. Teixeira & V. Rocha & R. Biscaia & M. F. Cardoso, 2013. "Competition and diversification in public and private higher education," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(35), pages 4949-4958, December.
    17. Lee Elliot Major & Stephen Machin, 2018. "Social mobility and its enemies," CentrePiece - The magazine for economic performance 541, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Heinesen, Eskil, 2018. "Admission to higher education programmes and student educational outcomes and earnings–Evidence from Denmark," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-19.
    19. Adam J. Kapor & Christopher A. Neilson & Seth D. Zimmerman, 2020. "Heterogeneous Beliefs and School Choice Mechanisms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(5), pages 1274-1315, May.
    20. Gibbons, Stephen & Vignoles, Anna, 2012. "Geography, choice and participation in higher education in England," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 98-113.
    21. Tuomo Suhonen, 2014. "Field-of-Study Choice in Higher Education: Does Distance Matter?," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 355-375, October.
    22. Kamila Danilowicz-Gösele & Katharina Lerche & Johannes Meya & Robert Schwager, 2017. "Determinants of students' success at university," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(5), pages 513-532, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Delaney, Judith M. & Devereux, Paul J., 2020. "Choosing differently? College application behavior and the persistence of educational advantage," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Wales, Philip, 2013. "Access all areas? The impact of fees and background on student demand for postgraduate higher education in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 57846, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Jo Blanden & Lindsey Macmillan, 2014. "Education and Intergenerational Mobility: Help or Hindrance?," CASE Papers case179, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    4. Di Paolo, Antonio & Tansel, Aysit, 2017. "Analyzing Wage Differentials by Fields of Study: Evidence from Turkey," GLO Discussion Paper Series 91, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Benjamin Alcott, 2017. "Does Teacher Encouragement Influence Students’ Educational Progress? A Propensity-Score Matching Analysis," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(7), pages 773-804, November.
    6. Stuart Campbell & Lindsey Macmillan & Richard Murphy & Gill Wyness, 2019. "Inequalities in student to course match: evidence from linked administrative data," CEP Discussion Papers dp1647, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Ghazala Azmat & Jack Britton, 2024. "Labour Market Returns to Higher Education," Post-Print hal-04709561, HAL.
    8. Stuart Campbell & Lindsey Macmillan & Richard Murphy & Gill Wyness, 2022. "Matching in the Dark? Inequalities in Student to Degree Match," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(4), pages 807-850.
    9. Solvoll, Gisle & Hanssen, Thor-Erik Sandberg, 2018. "Importance of aviation in higher education," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 47-55.
    10. John Cullinan & Kevin Denny & Darragh Flannery, 2021. "A distributional analysis of upper secondary school performance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 1085-1113, February.
    11. Cao, Yuan, 2020. "Centralized assignment mechanisms and assortative matching: Evidence from Chinese universities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 255-276.
    12. Cormac O'Dea & Ian Preston, 2012. "The distributional impact of public spending in the UK," IFS Working Papers W12/06, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    13. Britton, Jack & van der Erve, Laura & Belfield, Chris & Vignoles, Anna & Dickson, Matt & Zhu, Yu & Walker, Ian & Dearden, Lorraine & Sibieta, Luke & Buscha, Franz, 2022. "How much does degree choice matter?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    14. Agupusi, Patricia, 2019. "The effect of parents’ education appreciation on intergenerational inequality," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 214-222.
    15. Philip Wales, 2013. "Access All Areas? The Impact of Fees and Background on Student Demand for Postgraduate Higher Education in the UK," SERC Discussion Papers 0128, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    16. Nicolás de Roux & Evan Riehl, 2019. "Isolating Peer Effects in the Returns to College Selectivity," Documentos CEDE 17413, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    17. Bo, Shiyu & Liu, Jing & Shiu, Ji-Liang & Song, Yan & Zhou, Sen, 2019. "Admission mechanisms and the mismatch between colleges and students: Evidence from a large administrative dataset from China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 27-37.
    18. Sandra E. Black & Jeffrey T. Denning & Jesse Rothstein, 2023. "Winners and Losers? The Effect of Gaining and Losing Access to Selective Colleges on Education and Labor Market Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 26-67, January.
    19. Delaney, Liam & Harmon, Colm & Redmond, Cathy, 2011. "Parental education, grade attainment and earnings expectations among university students," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1136-1152.
    20. Reinhard A. Weisser, 2020. "How Personality Shapes Study Location Choices," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 61(1), pages 88-116, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Higher education; Regulation; Access; Competition; Public policy; Portugal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:72:y:2021:i:c:p:176-185. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.